WASHINGTON 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


HENRY  LANDES,  STATE  GEOLOGIST. 

Volume  I. 

ANNUAL  REPORT  FOR  1901. 

IN  SIX  PARTS. 


PART  II. 


THE  METALLIFEROUS  RESOURCES  OF 
WASHINGTON,  EXCEPT  IRON. 

BY 

HENRY  LANDES,  WM.  S.  THYNGr,  D.  A.  LYON, 
MILNOR  ROBERTS. 


OLYMPIA,  WASH.: 

GWIN  HICKS,  . . . STATE  PRINTER, 
1902. 


GLOLOGX 


BOARD  OF  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY, 


Henry  McBride, President. 

Governor  of  Washington. 

C.  W.  Maynard, Secretary . 


Treasurer  of  Washington. 

F.  P.  Graves, — 

President  of  the  University  of  Washington. 

E.  A.  Bryan, — 

President  of  the  Washington  Agricultural  College  and  School  of  Science. 


STAFF  OF  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


Henry  Landes, State  Geologist. 

Professor  of  Geology,  University  of  Washington. 

Solon  Shedd, Geologist. 

Professor  of  Geology,  Washington  Agricultural  College  and 
School  of  Science. 

W.  S.  Thyng, . Geologist . 

Professor  of  Mining  Engineering,  Washington  Agricultural 
College  and  School  of  Science. 

D.  A.  Lyon, Geologist 

Late  Professor  of  Mining  Engineering  and  Metallurgy, 

University  of  Washington. 


338891 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Preface vii 

The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington 1 

Introduction 1 

Stevens  County 4 

Northport  District 5 

Myers  Falls  District 6 

Flat  Creek  District  6 

Colville  District 7 

Chewelah  District 7 

Springdale  District 8 

Cedar  Canyon  District 8 

Ferry  County 12 

Republic  District 14 

Lincoln  County 22 

Okanogan  County 23 

Wauconda  District 24 

Myers  Creek  District 26 

Palmer  Mountain  District 28 

Conconully  District 32 

Moses  District 34 

Upper  Methow  District 35 

Twisp  District 36 

Squaw  Creek  District 37 

Whatcom  County 40 

Mount  Baker  District 41 

Slate  Creek  District 45 

Skagit  County 50 

Thunder  Creek  District 51 

Bald  Mountain  District 52 

Chelan  County 52 

Horseshoe  Basin  District 53 

Bridge  Creek  District 54 

Railroad  Creek  District 54 

Peshastin  District 56 

Snohomish  County 60 

Darrington  District 61 

Stilaguamish  District 63 

Monte  Cristo  District 70 

Silver  Creek  District 73 

Index  District 76 


VI 


Contents. 


Metalliferous  Resourses — Continued:  page. 

King  County 82 

Kittitas  County 87 

Swauk  District 87 

Pierce  County 89 

Carbon  River  District 89 

Lewis  and  Skamania  Counties 93 

St.  Helens  District 93 

Reduction  Plants  in  Washington 98 

Smelting  Works 98 

Chlorination  and  Cyanidation  Plants 109 

Stamp  Mills  ( Amalgamation  ) 112 

Arrastras 114 

Concentrators  and  Combination  Plants 116 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FACING  PAGE. 

A map  indicating  the  locations  of  the  principal  mining  districts, 
and  the  approximate  boundaries  of  the  region  in  which  metal- 
liferous deposits  occur 1 

Outcrop  of  Independence  Ledge,  Monte  Cristo 70 

The  Everett  Smelter,  owned  by  the  Puget  Sound  Reduction  Com- 
pany   98 

The  Republic  Mill,  owned  by  the  Republic  Reduction  Company. . . . 109 


PREFACE. 


In  this  article  on  the  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Wash- 
ington only  an  outline  or  sketch  of  the  subject  is  attempted, 
preparatory  to  detailed  descriptions  of  the  various  mining  dis- 
tricts that  will  be  given  in  later  reports.  Some  of  the  represent- 
ative or  typical  metalliferous  deposits  are  described,  selected 
here  and  there  from  the  large  area  in  which  the  metallic  minerals 
are  known  to  occur.  No  attempt  is  made  to  classify  the  ore  de- 
posits according  to  their  mineral  contents,  but  the  usual  products 
such  as  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  etc.,  are  all  described  together. 
This  is  done  because  of  the  peculiar  intimate  association  of  these 
minerals,  one  with  another,  in  the  veins  of  ore. 

The  geographical  classification  of  the  metalliferous  deposits 
is  that  by  counties,  districts  and  mines.  The  district  boundaries 
as  given  in  this  report  are  largely  those  of  convenience,  and  they 
may  vary  considerably  from  those  established  by  law  or  custom. 
The  proper  outlines  of  the  districts  will  be  given  when  these  are 
later  described  in  detail.  In  this  article  the  name  of  the  writer 
of  each  section  is  placed  at  the  beginning  of  it,  except  that  the 
State  Geologist  has  been  responsible  for  the  preparation  of  the 
article  as  a whole,  and  all  unsigned  sections  have  been  written 
by  him.  The  names  of  the  persons  who  have  given  the  informa- 
tion contained  in  the  minor  parts  are  placed  in  brackets  at  the 
end  of  the  paragraph. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/metalliferousres1219land 


Washington  Geological  Survey.  Annual  Report.  1901.  Plate  VI. 


which  metalliferous  deposits  occur. 


THE  METALLIFEROUS  RESOURCES  OF 
WASHINGTON. 


INTRODUCTION. 


In  at  least  thirteen  of  the  counties  of  Washington  metallifer- 
ous deposits  are  known  to  occur,  and  in  all  of  these  counties 
from  one  to  several  mining  districts  have  been  organized.  The 
metallic  minerals  are  practically  limited  to  that  area  on  the  geo- 
logical map  which  is  designated  as  the  region  of  metamorphic 
and  igneous  rocks  of  unknown  age.  Veins  of  ore  therefore 
occur  at  many  points  throughout  northern  Washington  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Mount  Baker  eastward  to  the  Idaho  line,  and 
from  the  international  boundary  southward  along  the  length  of 
the  Cascades  to  within  a few  miles  of  the  Columbia  river.  The 
Olympic  mountains  presumably  contain  rocks  analagous  to  those 
of  the  Cascades,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  demonstrated  that  val- 
uable metalliferous  deposits  occur  within  the  Olympics. 

In  this  brief  description  of  the  metalliferous  resources  of  the 
state  it  is  not  feasible  to  separate  the  metallic  minerals  one  from 
another  and  give  an  account  of  the  occurrences  of  each.  In 
most  cases  these  minerals  occur  together,  oftentimes  in  the 
same  vein,  and  generally  in  the  same  district.  Of  the  various 
classes  of  ores  the  sulphide  ores  are  by  far  the  greatest  in 
abundance.  Along  with  the  sulphides,  arsenides  and  antimon- 
ides  are  very  common.  Oxides  and  carbonates  do  not  com- 
monly occur,  and  native  minerals  are  conspicuously  rare. 

Gold  is  found  in  all  of  the  mining  districts,  and  even  in  all 
veins.  It  occurs  most  frequently  associated  with  iron  pyrite, 
arsenopyrite,  chalcopyrite,  sphalerite  and  galena.  In  a few  dis- 
tricts, as  Mount  Baker  and  Squaw  creek,  gold  occurs  with  tel- 
lurium as  a telluride.  It  does  not  commonly  occur  in  quartz  in 
a free-milling  condition,  at  least  very  far  below  the  surface. 


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Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Many  stamp  mills  have  been  erected  which  treated  gold-bearing 
quartz  successfully  when  the  ore  was  taken  from  the  surface, 
but  this  process  had  to  be  abandoned  when  depth  was  attained 
where  the  ore  became  base.  Comparatively  little  gold  is  ob- 
tained in  the  state  from  placer  diggings.  Placer  deposits  do 
not  seem  to  have  been  formed  to  any  large  extent,  presumably 
because  of  an  absence  of  quartz  ledges  which  carry  free  gold. 

Silver  is  as  widespread  in  its  occurrence  as  gold,  and  prac- 
tically none  of  the  ledges  are  free  from  it.  It  occurs  most  com- 
monly as  a sulphide,  in  close  association  with  other  sulphide 
minerals,  notably  galena.  In  some  of  the  districts  silver-lead 
ore  is  the  chief  product.  In  other  districts,  as  Cedar  canyon, 
silver  is  practically  the  entire  product,  occurring  in  the  native 
form  as  well  as  a sulphide.  In  other  instances,  as  about  Re- 
public, silver  occurs  in  small  quantities,  especially  in  compari- 
son with  the  gold  values. 

The  copper  minerals  are  widespread  in  occurrence,  there 
being  very  few  metalliferous  deposits  of  any  kind  which  do  not 
contain  some  copper.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  gold,  silver 
and  copper  in  about  equal  amounts  as  regards  value.  In  some 
districts,  as  that  of  Republic,  copper  minerals,  if  present  at  all, 
occur  in  exceedingly  small  quantities.  On  the  other  hand  there 
are  some  districts,  as  Index  and  Carbon  river,  where  practically 
all  of  the  values  in  the  ledges  come  from  the  copper  minerals 
alone  The  most  abundant  copper  mineral  is  chalcopyrite,  with 
bornite  as  a natural  though  minor  associate.  Tetrahedrite  or 
gray  copper  is  not  uncommon,  and  chalcocite  is  found  in  some 
veins.  Native  copper  has  been  found  at  several  places,  as  at 
Eatonville  and  on  the  Quilcene  river  near  its  mouth,  but  it  is 
comparatively  rare.  The  oxides  and  carbonates  scarcely  occur 
at  all  west  of  the  summit  of  the  Cascades  ; they  occur  in  small 
quantities  at  many  places  in  eastern  Washington  where  weath- 
ering has  not  been  followed  so  closely  by  erosion,  as  in  the 
humid  region  nearer  the  coast. 

About  the  only  lead  mineral  found  is  galena,  which  occurs 
abundantly  in  association  with  the  other  sulphides.  While  it  is 
very  rare  at  times,  it  is  yet  a common  mineral  in  a large  major- 
ity of  the  mining  districts  of  the  state.  In  some  districts,  as 
Colville,  Horseshoe  basin  and  others,  galena  constitutes  the 
chief  metallic  mineral  of  the  ore  veins. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


3 


Zinc,  in  the  form  of  sphalerite,  or  zinc  blende,  is  also  of 
widespread  occurrence,  although  the  amount  found  in  any  one 
vein  is  never  large.  It  occurs  in  intimate  association  with  the 
other  sulphides,  especially  with  galena. 

Arsenic  occurs  very  commonly  in  the  ore  veins,  usually  in 
the  form  of  arsenopyrite.  This  mineral  is  always  gold-bearing 
and  for  that  reason  its  presence  is  looked  upon  as  desirable.  In 
some  cases,  as  in  the  Monte  Cristo  mine,  arsenopyrite  occurs  in 
such  large  quantities  that  the  arsenic  constitutes  an  important 
commercial  product.  Native  arsenic,  realgar  and  orpiment  also 
occur,  notably  about  Monte  Cristo  and  Goat  lake. 

Antimony,  sometimes  in  the  metallic  form,  sometimes  as  stib- 
nite  or  tetrahedrate,  occurs  in  more  or  less  abundance  in  many 
districts.  In  a few  instances,  as  at  the  Happy  Thought  mine, 
on  Miller  river,  King  county,  the  quantity  is  sufficient  to  make  it 
of  commercial  importance. 

Molybdenum,  in  the  form  of  the  sulphide,  molybdenite,  fre- 
quently occurs  in  the  ore  veins,  generally  in  very  small  quantities. 
In  the  Crown  Point  ledge,  on  Railroad  creek,  it  occurs  in  suffi- 
cient amount  to  make  it  worth  the  while  to  work  the  mine  for 
this  one  product  alone. 

The  total  value  of  the  metalliferous  products  of  Washington 
for  the  past  twenty  years,  as  given  by  the  Director  of  the  Mint, 
has  been  about  $10,000,000.  The  output  of  1901  is  estimated  at 
$1,072,680.  The  metalliferous  deposits  of  the  state,  because  of 
their  isolation  and  generally  refractory  character  of  the  ores,  are 
necessarily  of  slow  development.  With  the  building  of  railways 
into  the  mining  districts,  and  with  improved  facilities  for  ore 
treatment,  a great  development  of  the  mining  industry  in  Wash- 
ington is  sure  to  follow. 

In  the  following  description  of  the  metalliferous  deposits  of 
the  state  a classification  is  made  according  to  counties,  districts, 
and  mines.  A beginning  is  made  on  the  eastern  border  of  the 
state,  and  the  counties  are  then  taken  in  turn  to  the  westward 
and  southward.  The  mining  districts  are  not  all  represented  by 
any  means,  only  representative  ones  being  described.  Similarly 
in  each  district  considered  only  a few  of  the  mining  properties, 
as  a rule,  are  mentioned.  Those  selected  are  so  chosen  because 
they  are  typical  of  the  district,  or  because  being  more  accessible 
they  could  be  more  readily  visited  in  the  hasty  field  work.  The 


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Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


properties  herein  described  therefore  represent  but  a fraction  of 
the  very  large  number  found  throughout  the  mining  regions  of 
the  state. 


STEVENS  COUNTY. 


Stevens  county  lies  in  the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of 
Washington,  extending  in  an  east  and  west  direction  from  Idaho 
to  the  Columbia  and  Kettle  rivers,  and  from  Spokane  and  Lin- 
coln counties  on  the  south  to  the  state  boundary  on  the  north. 

In  its  topography,  Stevens  county  is  characterized  by  three 
prominent  ridges,  and  three  prominent  valleys,  all  having  a north 
and  south  course.  Near  the  Washington-Idaho  line  a mountain 
ridge  having  a general  height  of  about  5,000  feet,  extends  from 
the  Pend  d’Oreille  river  at  Newport  to  British  Columbia.  Paral- 
lel to  this  chain  a second  one  lies  between  the  Pend  d’Oreille 
river  on  one  side,  and  the  Colville  on  the  other,  and  has  an  alti- 
tude of  about  4,500  feet.  To  the  westward,  situated  between 
the  Colville  and  Columbia  rivers,  is  the  third  chain,  somewhat 
lower  than  the  others,  its  highest  point  extending  to  about  4,000 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  larger  streams  have  completely  severed 
the  ridges  in  several  instances,  and  the  smaller  streams  have 
produced  many  prominent  passes  and  gaps.  Of  the  conspicu- 
ous north  and  south  valleys  of  the  county,  the  Pend  d’Oreille  is 
comparatively  narrow,  and  has  the  canyon  aspect  strongly  de- 
veloped. On  the  other  hand  the  Colville  is  quite  a broad  valley 
in  which  the  river  lazily  meanders  across  its  long  flood-plain. 
The  valley  farthest  westward,  that  of  the  Columbia,  is  also  broad, 
and  has  an  elevation  above  the  sea  of  about  1,100  feet  at  the 
point  where  it  enters  the  county. 

Stevens  county,  although  lying  in  the  great  basin  between  the 
Cascades  and  the  Rockies,  is  well  watered,  its  elevation  being 
such  that  the  precipitation  in  the  form  of  snow  and  rain  amounts 
to  over  25  inches  per  year.  The  rivers  are  large  and  give  to  the 
county  an  abundant  water  supply,  while  their  falls  and  rapids 
will  some  day  yield  great  power  as  well.  The  Columbia  in  Ste- 
vens county  is  a broad  and  deep  stream,  and  yet  is  not  navigable 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


5 


because  of  its  strong  current  and  the  rapids  along  its  course. 
Clark’s  fork,  or  the  Pend  d’Oreille,  is  one  of  the  largest  tribu- 
taries of  the  Columbia,  and  is  navigable  for  a part  of  its  course 
in  Stevens  county.  The  Colville  is  a small  river,  draining  a 
broad  fertile  valley,  which  was  settled  early  in  the  history  of 
Washington.  The  Spokane  forms  a part  of  the  southern  bound- 
ary, and  the  Kettle  a part  of  the  northwestern  boundary.  The 
more  elevated  parts  of  the  county  are  covered  with  a strong 
forest  growth  of  evergreens.  The  mountains  along  the  eastern 
boundary  are  included  within  the  Priest  River  Forest  Reserve. 
Practically  the  entire  county  is  forested,  although  when  the 
lower  valley  levels  are  reached  the  timber  becomes  somewhat 
sparse. 

Stevens  county  is  largely  a region  of  metamorphic  and  igne- 
ous rocks.  The  basalt  of  the  Columbia  plain  reaches  the  Spo- 
kane river  at  the  southern  limits  of  the  county.  The  north  and 
south  divides  are  composed  mainly  of  granite,  with  gneiss,  schist, 
crystalline  limestone,  and  other  metamorphic  rocks.  The  crys- 
talline limestone  yields  an  excellent  marble  at  several  places, 
and  it  often  has  serpentine  as  an  associate.  At  a few  localities 
veins  of  coal  are  found,  which  are  doubtless  analagous  in  age 
and  mode  of  origin  to  the  Tertiary  coals  of  the  western  part  of 
the  state.  Metalliferous  deposits  have  been  found  in  many  parts 
of  Stevens  county  or  wherever  careful  prospecting  has  been  car- 
ried on.  The  ores  occur  for  the  most  part  in  the  higher  hills 
which  constitute  the  divides  between  the  larger  streams.  Silver 
has  been  the  most  prominent  metal  mined,  occurring  in  the  forms 
of  silver  sulphides,  native  silver,  and  silver-lead.  In  some  ledges 
gold  is  the  most  important  metal,  and  in  a number  of  others, 
copper  in  various  mineral  forms  is  the  chief  constituent. 

NORTHPORT  DISTRICT. 

Bullion. — On  Bullion  mountain,  near  the  Columbia  river, 
there  is  a group  of  seven  claims  belonging  to  the  Bullion  Min- 
ing Company,  of  Spokane.  The  property  is  about  eight  miles 
west  of  Northport  and  three  and  one-half  miles  from  the  Spokane 
Falls  & Northern  Railway.  There  are  two  ledges  on  the  prop- 
erty, one  eighty  feet  and  the  other  fifty  feet  in  width.  They 
both  strike  northeast  and  southwest,  and  dip  to  the  northwest. 
On  ledge  No.  i a shaft  has  been  sunk  a distance  of  160  feet.  At 


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Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


the  50  foot  level  a drift  has  been  run  80  feet,  and  at  the  150  foot 
level  another  drift  has  been  run  100  feet.  On  ledge  No.  2 a 
shaft  has  been  sunk  100  feet,  and  at  the  ioo-foot  level  a drift  40 
feet  long  has  been  driven.  A number  of  open  cuts  have  been 
made  to  show  the  width  of  the  veins.  A water-power  plant  has 
been  installed  on  Crown  creek  which  generates  ample  power  for 
running  a sawmill,  drills,  concentrator,  etc.  The  company  has 
already  spent  $15,000  in  developing  the  property.  No  ore  has 
yet  been  shipped,  but  there  is  now  on  the  dump  50  tons  of  ship- 
ping ore  and  100  tons  of  concentrating  ore,  all  taken  out  in  de- 
velopment work.  The  concentrates  yield  on  an  average,  gold 
$2,  silver  40  ounces,  and  lead  70  per  cent.  (H.  J.  Brown,  sec- 
retary, Spokane.) 

Silver  King* — The  Silver  King  Mining  Company’s  property, 
consisting  of  four  claims,  is  situated  four  and  one-half  miles 
southeast  of  Northport.  It  contains  several  veins  composed 
largely  of  silver-lead  ore.  Some  assays  of  solid  ore  have  yielded 
silver  6 ounces  and  lead  77  per  cent.  Three  shafts  have  been 
sunk,  30  feet,  28  feet,  and  20  feet  in  depth,  respectively,  at  a 
total  cost  of  $1,000.  (J.  R.  Fleming,  secretary,  Spokane.) 

MYER’S  FALLS  DISTRICT. 

Mint* — On  Gold  hill,  near  Myer’s  Falls,  is  located  the  Mint 
group  of  claims.  There  are  three  veins,  varying  in  width  from 
eight  to  twenty-five  feet,  with  a northwest  and  southeast  strike, 
and  a dip  to  the  southwest.  A tunnel  and  shaft  aggregating  200 
feet  have  been  driven,  at  a cost  of  $2,500.  Assays  on  the  ore 
have  given  gold  $8,  silver  5 ounces,  and  copper  8 per  cent.  (D. 
F.  Strobeck,  Spokane.) 

St*  Paul-Express. — These  claims  are  located  very  near  the 
Mint  group,  on  Gold  hill.  Two  veins  are  found  here,  from  12 
to  35  feet  wide,  striking  northwest  and  southeast  and  dipping  to 
the  southwest.  A small  amount  of  development  work  has  been 
done,  consisting  chiefly  of  a tunnel  and  a shaft.  Assays  of  the 
ore  have  been  made  which  give  gold  $7.50 , silver  5 ounces,  and 
copper  9 per  cent.  (D.  F.  Strobeck,  Spokane.) 

FLAT  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

Examiner* — The  Examiner  Mining  Company’s  group  of  four 
claims  is  situated  on  Mineral  hill  in  the  Flat  creek  district. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


7 


Work  was  begun  by  the  present  company  in  January,  1899,  and 
since  then  they  have  driven  450  feet  of  tunnels  and  shafts. 
Steam  power  is  used  for  hoisting  and  pumping.  The  work  done 
represents  an  expenditure  of  over  $10,000.  The  vein  is  six  feet 
wide  and  strikes  northeast  and  southwest.  The  dip  is  to  the 
northwest.  Assays  on  the  ore  vary  from  $2  to  $16  per  ton  in 
gold  and  silver.  (W.  Genge,  secretary,  Spokane.) 

COLVILLE  DISTRICT. 

Bonanza. — The  Bonanza  mine  is  located  four  miles  northeast 
of  Bossburg.  The  property  was  originally  located  in  1885,  and 
came  into  the  hands  of  the  present  owners,  the  Deer  Trail  Con- 
solidated Mining  Company,  in  January,  1900.  The  vein  has  a 
width  of  about  eleven  feet.  Since  the  present  company  ob- 
tained control  of  the  property  it  has  shipped  about  1,500  tons 
of  ore  of  an  average  value  of  $16  per  ton,  chiefly  in  lead  and 
silver.  The  company  has  erected  a shaft  house,  an  ore  house, 
bunk  houses  and  boarding  houses,  and  a blacksmith  shop.  A 
steam  hoist  is  also  installed.  The  total  length  of  underground 
workings  including  shaft,  levels,  stopes,  etc.,  amounts  to  about 
2,500  feet.  The  total  cost  of  all  development  work  amounts  to 
about  $30,000.  (W.  W.  Tolman,  Spokane.) 

CHE'WELAH  DISTRICT. 

Minnehaha. — This  property  is  located  on  the  east  fork  of 
Chewelah  creek,  in  section  36,  T.  33,  N.  R.  40  E.  The  ledge 
varies  in  width  from  8 to  30  feet,  and  strikes  northwest  and 
southeast,  with  a southwesterly  dip.  The  average  assay  value 
is  $7.50  in  gold,  6.5  ounces  in  silver,  and  6 per  cent,  copper. 
A tunnel  40  feet  long  has  been  driven,  costing  $500.  (D.  F. 

Strobeck,  Spokane.) 

Blue  Creek. — The  Blue  Creek  Copper  Mining  Company,  of 
Spokane,  has  a group  of  three  claims  about  a mile  and  a half 
from  the  Blue  creek  switch  of  the  Spokane  Falls  & Northern 
Railway.  The  three  claims  join  each  other  end  to  end,  all 
being  on  the  same  ledge.  The  ledge  averages  about  six  feet 
wide  and  strikes  northwest  and  southeast.  Assays  of  $26.75 
per  ton  in  copper  have  been  obtained.  About  300  feet  of  un- 
derground development  work  has  been  done,  at  a cost  of  $3,000. 
(J.  J.  Brown,  Spokane.) 


8 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


SPRINGDALE  DISTRICT. 

Kemp-Komar* — The  Kemp-Komar  Copper  Mining  Company 
has  two  claims  which  are  located  about  six  miles  north  of  Loon 
lake.  There  is  one  vein  12  feet  wide  which  carries  a paystreak 
varying  in  width  from  a few  inches  to  5 feet.  It  strikes  north- 
east and  southwest  and  dips  about  seventy  degrees  to  the  north- 
west. Four  car  loads  of  ore  have  been  shipped  which  averaged 
25.5  per  cent,  copper,  while  another  car  load  gave  16  per  cent, 
copper.  The  total  values  are  in  copper.  A shaft  has  been  sunk 
200  feet  and  from  the  bottom  a drift  has  been  run  250  feet.  In 
another  part  of  the  vein  a shaft  has  been  sunk  a distance  of  40 
feet.  One  tunnel  60  feet  long,  another  90  feet,  and  a drift  20 
feet  long  have  also  been  driven  to  develop  the  ore  body.  Near 
the  surface  the  ores  are  carbonates  and  oxides,  except  in  the 
west  workings,  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  sulphides  replace  the 
surface  ores.  Occasional  assays  show  a small  value  in  gold  and 
silver,  the  highest  in  gold  being  $2  per  ton,  and  in  silver  6 
ounces  per  ton.  (L.  K.  Armstrong,  Spokane.) 

Honest  John* — The  Honest  John  Mining  Company’s  group 
of  three  claims  is  located  about  two  miles  northwest  of  Spring- 
dale,  on  the  Spokane  Falls  & Northern  Railway.  The  vein  is 
five  and  a half  feet  wide  and  dips  to  the  southeast,  with  a north- 
east and  southwest  strike.  The  values  are  mainly  in  silver  and 
lead,  and  assay  returns  of  $40  per  ton  have  been  received.  In 
the  development  of  the  property  a tunnel  120  feet  in  length  has 
been  driven,  several  small  shafts  have  been  sunk,  and  some  open 
cuts  made.  (W.  O.  Applequist,  secretary,  Spokane.) 

CEDAR  CANYON  DISTRICT. 

By  Wm.  S.  Thyng. 

Cedar  canyon  district  is  located  in  the  southwestern  part  of 
Stevens  county,  in  an  air  line  twenty  miles  west  of  Springdale, 
on  the  Spokane  Falls  and  Northern  Railroad,  and  thirty-five 
miles  north  of  Davenport,  on  the  Washington  Central  branch 
of  the  Northern  Pacific.  The  district  is  reached  from  both 
of  these  places  by  wagon  roads,  the  length  of  the  road  from 
Springdale  being  twenty-five  miles,  and  of  that  from  Davenport 
forty-two  miles.  While  this  district  is  perhaps  not  as  well 
known  as  some  in  the  state,  it  has  nevertheless  within  the  last 
few  years  produced  a large  amount  of  ore.  The  ore,  until  late 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


9 


in  the  summer  of  1901,  was  all  shipped  by  way  of  Davenport, 
but  since  the  shortening  and  improving  of  the  road  to  Spring- 
dale,  accomplished  during  the  past  season,  probably  most  of  the 
ore  mined  will  be  shipped  from  that  point  until  the  time  comes 
when  the  district  itself  will  be  reached  by  a railroad.  Through- 
out the  district  the  ore  is  mined  wholly  for  its  silver  contents, 
although  in  many  cases  lead  is  also  saved  in  the  smelting. 

Deer  Trail. — The  Deer  Trail  properties,  owned  and  operated 
by  the  Deer  Trail  Consolidated  Mining  Company,  are  and  have 
been  by  far  the  largest  producers  and  shippers  of  ore  in  the  dis- 
trict. The  president  of  the  company  is  Mr.  J.  D.  Chaplin,  ad- 
dress, St.  Catherine,  Canada;  Senator  W.  W.  Tollman,  Spokane, 
Washington,  is  vice-president  and  general  manager.  The  head- 
quarters of  the  operating  department  is  in  Spokane.  The  com- 
pany owns  the  following  claims  in  the  district:  Deer  Trail,  Deer 
Trail  No.  2,  Legal  Tender,  Victor  Fraction,  Elephant,  and  Baby 
Elephant. 

There  is  but  one  ledge,  which  has  an  average  width  of  four 
feet,  a strike  of  south  thirty  degrees  west,  and  an  average  dip  of 
forty  degrees  to  the  southeast.  This  dip  is  found  to  be  quite 
variable,  ranging  from  ten  to  forty-five  degrees.  The  country 
rock  or  formation  is  a stratified  limestone,  which  runs  northeast 
and  dips  between  eighty  and  eighty-five  degrees  to  the  north- 
west. The  vein  matter  is  made  up  of  quartz  containing  inclu- 
sions of  country  rock  in  places.  The  ore  in  the  upper  levels 
consists  of  highly  oxidized  sulphurets  and  chlorides,  but  it 
passes,  however,  in  depth,  to  sulphides  both  of  lead  and  silver. 
Galena,  when  found,  generally  averages  between  10  and  15  per 
cent.;  the  silver  found  with  the  galena  running  from  50  to  500 
ounces  per  ton  of  ore;  gold,  both  in  the  upper  and  lower  levels, 
is  generally  found  to  the  amount  of  $1  to  $2  per  ton  of  ore; 
sphalerite  (zinc  blende)  is  always  found  accompanying  the 
galena,  and  in  amounts  of  about  8 per  cent,  to  each  1 5 per  cent, 
of  the  galena.  A pay  streak  of  ore,  from  three  inches  to  four 
feet  in  width,  with  an  average  of  twelve  inches,  is  found,  while 
in  places  the  entire  vein  widens  to  12  or  15  feet.  The  pay 
streak  is  generally  very  continuous  and  shows  a good  parting  of 
gouge,  which  is  almost  pure  talc.  The  average  value  of  all  ore 
taken  out  of  the  mine  is  about  100  ounces  in  silver  per  ton.  The 
ore  is  hand  picked  on  the  surface,  and  part  of  it  spalled;  the  average 


10  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


value  of  all  ore  shipped  is  200  ounces  in  silver  and  eight  per 
cent,  in  lead.  The  mine  was  opened  in  1895,  and  was  acquired 
by  the  present  company  on  the  25th  day  of  January,  1900.  The 
vein  lies  nearly  parallel  with  the  surface  of  the  mountain  and  is 
reached  at  a number  of  points  by  short  tunnels. 

The  total  extent  of  underground  development  is  about  2,000 
feet,  but  the  area  of  stoped  ground  could  not  be  ascertained. 
The  ore  is  mined  entirely  by  hand,  the  universal  method  through- 
out the  district.  About  $30,000  has  been  expended  in  develop- 
ment and  in  surface  work  and  improvements,  and  the  estimated 
value  of  the  output  to  date  is  approximately  $500,000;  the  ex- 
act amount  of  ore  mined  and  sold  to  date  could  not  be  ascer- 
tained. The  statistics  of  yield  and  value  are  from  Senator  W. 
W.  Tolman,  general  manager  of  the  mine. 

Silver  Queen. — This  mine  is  owned  and  operated  by  the  Sil- 
ver Basin  Mining  Company,  of  which  the  president  is  Mr.  W. 
O.  Van  Horn,  and  the  general  manager  is  Mr.  L.  E.  Van  Horn, 
both  of  Fruitland,  Washington.  This  property  lies  about  three- 
quarters  of  a mile  southwest  of  the  Deer  Trail.  The  ledge  strikes 
along  the  magnetic  north  and  south  line,  with  a dip  that  is  usually 
about  vertical,  the  deflection  occasionally  being  to  the  east  or  to 
the  west.  The  west  wall  is  remarkably  well  defined.  The  ledge  is 
in  a contact  between  white  and  blue  limestone,  the  white  limestone 
lying  to  the  east,  where  the  parting  between  it  and  the  country 
rock  is  not  easily  distinguished.  The  average  width  of  the  ledge 
is  about  six  feet.  The  value  of  the  ore  is  wholly  in  silver,  which 
occurs  largely  as  brittle  silver,  although  recent  developments 
during  the  past  winter,  have  uncovered  a considerable  amount 
of  native  silver  along  parting  planes.  The  lead  contents  of  the 
vein  are  very  low,  but  where  galena  is  found,  it  generally  runs 
high  in  silver,  often  containing  from  500  to  600  ounces  to  the 
ton.  The  pay  streak  varies  greatly  in  thickness,  but  appears  to 
follow  most  closely  the  west  wall.  The  gangue  matter  is  chiefly 
dolomite. 

Silver  Seal  Fraction. — Immediately  south  of  the  Silver  Queen 
and  located  upon  the  same  ledge,  is  the  Silver  Seal  Fraction 
Mine,  represented  by  Mr.  F.  M.  Van  Horn,  of  Fruitland,  Wash- 
ington. Upon  this  properry  an  adit  tunnel  341  feet  long  has 
been  run,  cutting  the  ledge  at  a depth  of  about  80  feet.  This 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


11 


tunnel  was  driven  and  is  controlled  jointly  by  the  Silver  Queen 
and  the  Silver  Seal  companies.  From  this  tunnel  204  feet  of 
drift  has  been  driven  in  the  Silver  Seal,  and  from  this  drift  con- 
siderable stoping  has  been  done,  at  one  place  to  a height  of  24 
feet.  From  the  point  where  this  drift  crosses  the  property  line, 
or  end  line  of  the  Silver  Queen,  it  has  been  continued  for  no 
feet.  Upon  the  Silver  Seal  property  a shaft  has  been  sunk  76 
feet  from  the  surface,  which  intersects  the  drift  about  20  feet 
south  of  the  tunnel  head.  This  shaft  is  entirely  in  ore.  Upon 
the  Silver  Queen  a shaft  has  been  sunk,  which  in  September, 
1901,  was  some  215  feet  in  depth.  Since  that  time  this  shaft  has 
been  continued  and  connection  has  also  been  made  with  the  Sil- 
ver Seal  drift.  The  plan  of  both  companies  is  to  work  in  the 
future,  each  from  its  own  shaft,  the  Silver  Queen  being  already 
equipped  with  a hoisting  plant.  The  Silver  Seal  has  shipped 
eleven  carloads  (about  220  tons)  to  the  Northport  Smelter,  via 
Davenport,  and  in  September,  1901,  had  about  700  tons  of  ship- 
ping ore  upon  the  dump.  The  Silver  Queen  has  shipped  three 
carloads  of  ore  and  has  at  present  something  over  50  tons  upon 
the  dump. 

Brooks* — This  is  another  property  of  considerable  import- 
ance in  the  district,  and  is  owned  by  the  Brooks  Mining  Com- 
pany, of  which  the  president  is  Mr.  E.  L.  Spencer,  of  Davenport, 
Washington.  This  company  owns  three  claims  in  the  district,  the 
Brooks,  Success,  and  First  Adventure,  but  at  the  present  time  is 
operating  only  the  Brooks  claim,  which  is  located  immediately 
north  of  the  Silver  Queen  and  is  supposed  to  be  upon  the  same 
ledge.  The  development  to  date  consists  of  a shaft  75  feet  in 
depth,  from  which  50  feet  of  drifting  has  been  done,  and  a tun- 
nel 265  feet  in  length,  completed  last  season,  and  which  taps  the 
ledge  at  90  feet  depth.  This  tunnel  is  driven  through  a sacchar- 
oidal  limestone.  The  ore  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Silver  Queen. 
Two  car  loads  of  the  value  of  $3,000  have  been  shipped  from  the 
drift  workings. 

Orchid* — Four  claims,  the  Orchid,  Laura  E.,  Cyclone,  and 
Cornell  are  owned  by  the  Orchid  Mining  Company,  of  which  the 
president  is  Mr.  G.  W.  Kipp,  address,  Cortez,  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  general  manager,  Mr.  C.  L.  Young,  of  Davenport,  Washing- 
ton. This  property  is  located  about  three-quarters  of  a mile 


12 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


almost  due  south  of  the  Deer  Trail.  The  claims  cover  two 
ledges,  which  have  a north  and  south  strike.  The  development 
work,  consisting  of  tunneling,  drifting,  and  a short  shaft,  aggre- 
gates 1,750  feet.  Some  little  stoping  has  also  been  done.  The 
company  shipped  three  tons  of  high  grade  ore  in  August,  1900, 
to  the  Tacoma  smelter.  The  ore  as  found  so  far  consists  of 
chlorides  of  silver  and  lead,  in  intimate  association,  with  small 
amounts  of  brittle  silver. 

While  the  properties  above  mentioned  are  probably  at  the 
present  time  the  largest  and  most  important  of  the  district,  there 
are  others  upon  which  considerable  development  work  has  been 
done  and  which  would  seem  well  worthy  of  mention.  These  in- 
clude the  Silver  Basin,  Moonshine,  Jolly  Boy,  Emerald,  Hoodoo, 
Hoodoo  Extension,  Saturday  Night,  Sunday  Morning,  Plata  Rica, 
and  others. 

The  district  is  highly  mineralized  and  many  of  the  ledges 
yield  exceptionally  good  values  in  silver.  As  is  the  case  with  so 
many  of  the  mining  districts  in  this  state,  the  vexed  question  is 
that  of  transportation.  With  a railroad  directly  into  the  district 
a number  of  properties,  now  standing  idle  on  account  of  lack  of 
shipping  facilities,  would  at  once  be  placed  upon  a firm  paying 
basis. 


FERRY  COUNTY, 


Ferry  county  lies  between  the  counties  of  Stevens  on  the  east 
and  Okanogan  on  the  west,  and  embraces  a part  of  the  large 
tract  that  has  been  commonly  known  for  so  many  years  as  the 
“Reservation.”  Until  the  present  time  Ferry  county  has  suf- 
fered because  of  its  isolation,  but  accessibility  to  it  will  be  largely 
increased  by  the  two  railways  which  are  now  being  constructed 
into  the  heart  of  the  county,  the  local  terminal  point  of  each 
being  Republic. 

In  its  topography  Ferry  county  is  interesting  although  simple. 
The  county  has  on  its  southern  border  the  winding  valley  of  the 
Columbia,  and  on  its  eastern  border  the  valleys  of  the  Columbia 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


13 


and  the  Kettle.  A broad  continuous  valley  extends  north  and 
south  through  the  central  part  of  the  county,  made  by  the  San 
Poll  river  and  Curlew  creek,  both  heading  near  together  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Republic,  but  flowing  in  opposite  directions. 
Between  the  valley  just  mentioned  and  that  part  of  the  Columbia- 
Kettle  is  a north-south  ridge  or  watershed  rising  about  4000  feet 
above  the  main  valleys.  To  the  westward  of  the  San  Poil-Curlew 
valley  the  surface  rises  gradually  to  the  western  border  of  the 
county,  and  beyond  it  until  the  Okanogan  divide  is  attained.  On 
the  whole  the  topography  of  the  county  is  characterized  by  broad 
valleys  and  rounded  hills,  rather  than  by  canyons  and  mountains; 
it  is  an  old  topography  rather  than  a new  one.  The  grades  are 
so  moderate  that  roads  are  easy  of  construction  in  practically  all 
parts  of  the  county.  Along  the  sides  of  the  larger  valleys  ter- 
races rise  one  above  another,  the  uppermost  one  being  often  600 
feet  above  the  stream  below.  Across  the  valleys  in  occasional 
instances  the  moraines  inherited  from  glaciers  have  formed  slight 
dams,  producing  small  shallow  lakes. 

Although  Ferry  county  has  an  average  rainfall  of  but  fifteen 
inches  per  year,  still  all  the  higher  parts  of  the  county  are  covered 
by  a good  forest  growth.  In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county, 
on  the  higher  divides  adjacent  to  the  Columbia  and  the  Kettle 
rivers  the  groves  of  pine,  tamarack,  and  other  evergreens  are 
very  fine  and  assume  considerable  commercial  importance.  In 
the  valleys,  and  on  the  lower  hills,  the  decreased  rainfall  does 
not  admit  of  the  growth  of  trees,  but  a luxuriant  bunch-grass 
growth  is  found  instead.  The  drainage  of  the  county  is  altogether 
into  the  Columbia,  the  two  chief  tributaries  of  that  stream  being 
the  Kettle  and  the  San  Poil.  The  small  streams  of  the  county 
head  for  the  most  part  among  the  granite  and  crystalline  rocks, 
and  are  conspicuous  for  their  purity  and  freshness. 

As  to  the  geological  features  of  the  county  it  may  be  noted  in 
a general  way  that  granite,  gneiss,  schist,  and  crystalline  lime- 
stone are  the  prevailing  formations,  with  some  intrusive  and  ex- 
trusive rocks  of  a late  age.  A broad  belt  of  granite,  flanked  by 
gneiss,  schist  and  crystalline  limestone,  lies  immediately  to  the 
westward  of  the  Columbia  and  Kettle  rivers,  and  extends  from 
the  southern  to  the  northern  limits  of  the  county.  A parallel 
belt  of  similar  rocks  is  found  along  the  western  side  of  the  county. 
About  Republic  there  is  an  area  limited  to  a few  square  miles 


14  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


where  conglomerates,  sandstones,  and  shales  of  Eocene  age 
occur.  In  several  parts  of  the  county  extensive  sheets  of  lava, 
chiefly  basalt,  are  found,  which  are  of  late  origin;  in  some  in- 
stances dikes  of  intrusive  matter  are  prominent,  and  many  of  the 
veins  of  ore  have  some  connection  with  these. 

At  many  places  in  Ferry  county  metalliferous  deposits  occur, 
and  there  is  no  part  of  the  county  but  what  could  be  termed 
good  prospecting  ground.  Wherever  the  base  ores  occur  devel- 
opment work  has  not  progressed  very  rapidly  because  of  the 
difficulties  encountered  in  removing  the  ores  to  points  of  treat- 
ment ; on  the  other  hand  wherever  ledges  of  quartz  are  found, 
especially  those  which  hold  out  promises  of  being  free-milling, 
development  work  has  proceeded  more  rapidly.  The  large 
quartz  edges  about  Republic,  from  which  some  high  assays 
were  had  of  the  surface  croppings,  have  attracted  a great  deal 
of  attention  from  the  date  of  their  discovery.  About  Curlew, 
Empire  and  Belcher  mountain,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Keller,  in  the  southern  portion  of 
the  county,  a large  amount  of  development  work  has  been  done 
on  the  ore  deposits  found  thereabouts. 

REPUBLIC  DISTRICT. 

The  Republic  district  is  located  toward  the  western  side  of 
Ferry  county,  and  a little  to  the  northward  of  the  north-south 
midway  point.  The  district  has  an  approximate  length  and 
width  of  eight  miles  each,  and  lies  immediately  about  the  con- 
fluence of  Granite  creek  with  the  San  Poil.  The  town  of  Re- 
public lies  at  the  center  of  the  district,  and  is  easily  reached  by 
good  roads  from  the  north,  east,  south  and  west.  The  regular 
stages  connect  daily  with  the  Spokane  Falls  & Northern  trains 
at  Myer’s  Falls,  and  with  the  Canadian  Pacific  trains  at  Grand 
Forks,  each  of  these  points  being  approximately  42  miles  from 
Republic.  Two  railways  are  now  building  to  Republic,  both 
coming  from  the  northward  via  the  Kettle  river  and  Curlew 
creek.  These  roads  will  be  in  operation  by  the  spring  of  1902. 

The  region  immediately  about  Republic  is  one  of  compara- 
tively low  relief,  the  hills  possessing  rounded  forms  and  gentle 
slopes.  The  soil  has  accumulated  to  a considerable  thickness, 
almost  completely  hiding  the  bed  rock  except  along  the  stream 
courses  and  on  an  occasional  steep  hill  slope.  Some  of  the  hill 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


15 


slopes  are  bare  of  trees,  but  the  most  of  them  are  forest  covered. 
The  snowfall  is  not  heavy,  so  that  the  precipitation,  which 
amounts  to  about  15  inches  per  year,  occurs  chiefly  in  the  form 
of  rain. 

The  oldest  rock  formations  represented  about  Republic  are 
certain  schists,  gneisses  and  crystalline  limestones,  into  which 
large  masses  of  granite  have  been  thrust.  After  the  intrusion 
of  the  granite  there  was  a long  period  of  erosion,  followed  by 
the  formation  of  lake  basins,  one  of  which  existed  in  and  about 
the  Republic  district.  In  this  lake  deposits  of  clay,  sand  and 
conglomerate  were  made,  which  in  time  were  hardened  into 
rock.  By  the  fossil  leaves  found  in  the  sediments  the  lake  beds 
are  known  to  be  of  early  Tertiary  (Eocene)  age.  After  the  de- 
position of  a considerable  thickness  of  these  sedimentary  beds 
they  were  greatly  disturbed  and  tilted  at  various  angles  by  in- 
trusions of  porphyritic  andesite.  Since  the  dislocation  of  the 
stratified  rocks  they  have  been  largely  removed  by  erosion,  but 
in  the  town  of  Republic  and  at  several  points  to  the  northward 
remnants  of  them  maybe  easily  found.  The  andesite  mentioned 
above  is  of  a dark  gray  color,  somewhat  soft,  and  easily  disinte- 
grated. It  is  the  most  frequent  rock  met  with  immediately 
about  Republic,  and  the  principal  quartz  ledges  are  found 
within  it. 

The  general  course  of  the  veins  of  ore  is  north  and  south. 
Occasionally  there  is  some  modification  in  direction,  as  along  the 
northern  border  of  the  district  where  the  ledges  run  more  to  the 
northeastward  and  southwestward.  As  a rule  the  ledges  are  un- 
usually wide,  with  great  persistency  in  length,  and  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  see  are  composed  wholly  of  quartz,  with  a very  little 
calcite.  The  quartz  is  nearly  pure  white,  with  occasionally  some 
very  narrow  black  bands  within  it.  It  is  very  tough,  hard  to 
break,  and  posses  a well-marked  conchoidal  fracture.  It  appears 
to  be  wholly  devoid  of  the  sulphide  minerals,  and  even  in  the 
richest  ore  the  free  gold  is  rarely  or  never  seen  even  with  a strong 
magnifier. 

Various  plans  of  treating  the  Republic  ores  have  been  tried, 
but  the  only  very  satisfactory  results  have  been  those  obtained 
by  smelting,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  this  will  be  the  method 
employed  in  the  future.  In  the  matter  of  the  extraction  of  gold 
from  the  ores  of  the  district  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  a 


16  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey . 


paper  read  before  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers, 
at  Washington,  D.  C. , February,  1900,  Messrs.  T.  M.  Chatard 
and  Cabell  Whitehead  state  the  results  of  experiments  made  in 
the  chemical  laboratory  upon  Republic  ores.  The  object  of  their 
investigations  was  to  explain  the  well  known  low  percentage  of 
gold-extraction  by  amalgamation.  After  making  numerous  tests 
of  the  ore,  they  finally  arrived  at  the  following  method  : 

“A  sample  of  the  coarse  ore  was  finely  pulverized,  and  the  metallic 
iron  present  removed  by  a magnet.  Ten  grams  were  then  digested  on 
the  water-bath  for  one  hour  with  hydrochloric  acid,  diluted  with  an 
equal  bulk  of  water,  and  then  filtered.  The  washed  residue  was  then 
digested  with  a hot  solution  of  sodium  carbonate  to  extract  any  silica 
rendered  soluble  by  the  acid  treatment,  while  the  acid  solution  was 
evaporated  to  dryness  to  recover  any  dissolved  silica.  The  solution  was 
then  analyzed  by  the  usual  methods,  and  the  complete  results  were  as 
follows. 

Insoluble  residue 97.11  Zinc 025 

Soluble  silica  . . 31  L/ime 066 

Alumina 33  Magnesia trace 

Ferric  oxide 40  Sulphur 060 

Ferrous  oxide 29  Phosphoric  acid 018 

Copper 016  Water 1.530 

Total 100.155 

“This  analysis  indicates  that  the  material  which  envelopes  the  gold 
and  prevents  its  dissolving  in  the  cyanide  consists  mainly  of  hydrated 
oxides  of  aluminum  and  iron,  since  the  amount  of  ‘soluble’  silica  is  in- 
sufficient for  any  known  combination  with  the  bases,  even  if  we  suppose 
that  all  of  it  was  originally  so  combined.  * * * 

“ As  a rule,  the  gold  and  silver  in  these  ores  are  in  the  form  of  very 
minute  particles,  and  these  appear  to  be  so  enveloped  in  the  slimy  hy- 
drates as  to  be  floated  off  by  the  water  when  the  ore  is  panned;  the  hy- 
drates also  forming  a coating  impervious  to  cyanide  solutions.  When 
the  ore  is  treated  with  acid  the  hydrates  are  dissolved,  and  the  gold, 
thus  set  free,  is  easily  collected  in  the  pan.  The  action  of  heat  by  driv- 
ing off  the  water  of  hydrates,  leaves  the  oxides  in  a brittle  and  porous 
condition,  so  that  they  either  separate  from  the  gold  or  permit  the  cy- 
anide solution  to  reach  and  dissolve  it.  Calcium  has,  however,  the  re- 
verse effect  upon  the  silver,  as  the  extraction  of  this  metal  was  always 
less  after  the  ore  had  been  heated  than  before,  due  probably  to  the  con- 
version of  sulphide  of  silver  into  metallic  silver,  which  is  less  easily 
soluble  in  cyanide  than  the  sulphide.” 

Although  a large  amount  of  development  work  has  been  done 
upon  very  many  properties  in  the  district,  lack  of  space  forbids 
the  description  of  all  but  a few  of  the  more  prominent  mines. 

Republic*  — This  mine,  now  owned  by  the  Republic  Consoli- 
dated Gold  Mining  company,  is  the  best  developed  property  in 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


17 


the  Republic  district.  It  is  located  at  the  southern  limits  of  the 
town  of  Republic,  on  the  western  side  of  Granite  creek. 

The  ledge  outcrops  on  the  summit  of  a sharp  ridge  which 
rises  about  700  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  stream.  It  has  a north 
and  south  strike,  with  a dip  to  the  eastward  of  about  80  degrees. 
The  foot-wall  is  a porphyritic  andesite,  while  the  hanging  wall  is 
conglomerate,  overlaid  by  sandstone.  At  the  surface  the  vein 
varies  in  width  from  four  to  twenty-four  feet. 

In  the  development  of  the  ledge  three  tunnels  were  driven 
from  the  eastern  hill  slope  through  the  sandstone  and  conglom- 
erate until  the  vein  was  reached  and  cross-cut.  The  lowest  or 
mill  tunnel  has  a length  of  2,225  feet,  and  cuts  the  ore  body  600 
feet  below  its  outcrop.  This  tunnel  is  on  a level  with  the  upper 
landing  floor  of  the  mill,  and  is  the  one  now  used  altogether  in 
the  working  of  the  mine.  From  the  cross-cuts,  or  points  wRere 
the  tunnels  penetrated  the  vein  of  ore,  drifts  have  been  made  in 
both  directions  for  considerable  distances.  From  these  drifts 
winzes  and  raises  have  been  driven  until  the  ore  body  has  been 
thoroughly  prospected.  As  a result  of  the  underground  work  it 
has  been  found  that  within  the  vein  there  exists  a well-defined 
ore  shoot  which  extends  downward  from  the  widest  point  of  out- 
crop to  the  lowest  point  reached,  viz.,  the  6oo-foot  level.  This 
ore  shoot  is  roughly  lenticular  in  form,  has  a width  of  fully  thirty 
feet  at  its  center,  gradually  becoming  narrower  when  followed 
either  way  along  the  strike  of  the  vein.  The  ore  shoot  does  not 
stand  vertical,  but  dips  to  the  southward  at  an  angle  of  about  60 
degrees. 

The  ore  varies  very  greatly  in  value  throughout  the  ledge. 
Large  bodies  of  quartz  have  been  found  of  a value  too  low  to 
pay  the  cost  of  mining  and  reducing.  On  the  other  hand  pay 
streaks  of  extraordinary  richness  have  been  discovered.  Barren 
quartz  and  rich  quartz  all  look  so  nearly  alike  that  only  by  re- 
peated assays  can  the  miner  know  in  what  kind  of  ore  he  is 
working.  The  ore  contains  about  90  per  cent,  of  silicia,  with 
some  alumina,  iron  oxide  and  lime.  No  traces  of  arsenic,  anti- 
mony, copper  or  lead  are  found.  The  quartz  is  as  a rule  very 
white,  although  sometimes  it  is  banded  and  somewhat  resembles 
onyx  or  agate. 

The  best  grade  of  ore  which  is  taken  from  the  mine  is  mostly 
shipped  to  the  smelters  at  Everett  and  Tacoma.  The  ores  of 


2 — II 


18  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


lower  grade  are  treated  at  the  mill  owned  by  the  Republic  Re- 
duction Company,  which  is  located  at  the  mouth  of  the  lowest 
tunnel,  on  the  bank  of  Granite  creek.  This  mill  is  described 
under  the  title  of  Reduction  Plants.  In  two  and  one-half  years 
the  Republic  mine  has  paid  dividends  to  the  amount  of  $382,500. 

Mountain  Lion, — This  mine,  next  to  the  Republic,  is  the  best 
developed  property  in  the  district.  It  is  situated  about  two 
miles  northwest  of  the  town  of  Republic.  On  the  property 
there  are  three  parallel  veins,  with  a north  and  south  strike. 
The  central  one  is  the  principal  vein,  and  the  one  upon  which 
the  most  development  work  has  been  done.  It  occupies  a fis- 
sure in  porphyritic  andesite,  and  has  a dip  to  the  west  of  about 
80  degrees. 

The  ledges  have  been  developed  by  a long  tunnel  which  cuts 
through  the  three  veins  at  a depth  of  about  300  feet  below  the 
surface ; by  a double  compartment  shaft,  300  feet  deep,  which 
connects  the  end  of  the  tunnel  with  the  surface  above,  and  by 
drifts,  cross-cuts,  winzes  and  raises  which  represent  in  totality 
several  hundred  feet. 

In  the  main  vein  the  development  work  disclosed  the  pres- 
ence of  an  ore  shoot  600  feet  long,  and  of  a depth  not  yet  deter- 
mined. At  its  widest  point  it  measures  18  feet,  occasionally 
being  reduced  to  10  or  12  feet.  The  vein  filling  is  apparently 
all  quartz,  often  resembling  flint  or  hornstone,  and  usually  very 
compact.  Within  it  there  are  many  small  cavities  lined  with 
quartz  crystals.  At  most  places  the  walls  of  the  vein  are  quite 
distinct,  but  sometimes  the  ore  is  frozen  to  the  walls  and  does 
not  break  off  readily.  Gold  constitutes  the  chief  value  in  the 
ore,  occurring  free,  but  in  an  exceedingly  fine  state.  Silver 
occurs  sparingly,  one  or  two  ounces  per  ton  being  present.  No 
leaching  has  taken  place  in  the  vein,  the  surface  assays  being  as 
high  as  those  at  a depth.  The  east  vein  has  a width  of  seven 
feet,  its  depth  and  length  as  yet  undetermined.  Some  sulphides 
are  present  in  this  ledge,  At  the  150-foot  level  the  ore  is  much 
oxidized.  This  ledge  has  a dip  of  60  to  70  degrees  westward, 
and  may  come  into  the  principal  vein  at  depth.  At  the  surface 
the  two  ledges  are  160  feet  apart. 

The  ioo-ton  mill  which  has  been  erected  to  treat  the  Moun- 
tain Lion  ore  is  fully  described  under  the  heading  Reduction 
Plants. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


19 


Tom  Thumb*  — The  Tom  Thumb  mine  is  located  one  mile 
east  of  the  Mountain  Lion  mine  and  more  directly  north  of  Re- 
public. One  vein  of  ore  is  being  developed.  It  has  a northeast 
and  southwest  strike  with  a dip  of  45  degrees  to  the  southeast. 
The  ledge  has  walls  of  porphyritic  andesite,  and  measures  on  an 
average  eight  feet  from  wall  to  wall.  The  vein  filling  is  quartz, 
very  closely  resembling  the  Republic  ore.  Eight  or  nine  ounces 
of  silver  are  present  with  each  ounce  of  gold. 

The  development  work  consists  of  a shaft,  with  many  drifts, 
cross-cuts,  and  winzes,  aggregating  in  all  1,500  feet,  and  having 
cost  with  the  mine  machinery  about  $80,000.  The  main  shaft 
reached  the  ledge  at  a depth  of  255  feet,  the  first  215  feet  being 
in  sandstone  and  shale,  the  last  40  feet  in  porphyry.  The  mine 
machinery  consists  of  a 100  h.  p.  boiler,  an  8-drill  compressor, 
and  a 45  h.  p.  hoisting  engine. 

Quilp. — This  mine  is  located  at  the  northern  border  of  the 
older  part  of  the  town  of  Republic,  or  Eureka  as  it  was  once 
called.  The  Quilp  is  at  the  southern  end  of  a prominent  north 
and  south  ledge,  lying  parallel  with,  and  on  the  east  side  of, 
Eureka  gulch.  This  ledge  is  easily  traced  northward  through 
six  claims,  or  for  a distance  of  about  9,000  feet.  Throughout  it 
has  walls  of  porphyritic  andesite. 

At  the  Quilp  mine  the  ledge  has  a dip  to  the  eastward  of 
about  45  degrees,  and  a width  varying  from  3 to  5 feet.  The 
development  work  consists  of  about  2,637  feet,  represented  by  a 
shaft,  with  several  drifts,  cross-cuts,  winzes,  etc.  Ore  to  the 
extent  of  754  tons  has  been  sold,  for  which  $13,142  have  been  re- 
ceived. The  values  are  altogether  in  gold  and  silver,  the  gold 
varying  little  in  amount  from  the  surface  downward,  while  the 
siver  values  constantly  increase.  In  the  lower  workings  about  60 
per  cent,  of  the  total  value  is  in  gold,  and  40  per  cent,  in  silver. 
The  mine  machinery  consists  of  a 7-drill  compressor,  boiler, 
hoisting  engines,  pumps,  etc.  About  $85,000  has  been  spent  in 
developing  the  property. 

Lone  Pine-Surprise.  — This  mine  is  located  on  the  same  ledge 
as  the  Quilp  and  immediately  to  the  northward.  The  strike  of 
the  vein  continues  northward  and  southward  with  a dip  to  the 
east.  The  width  of  the  ore  body  varies  from  2 to  16  feet.  The 
ore  is  not  dissimilar  in  appearance  from  that  of  the  Republic 
mine.  It  contains  about  5 ounces  of  silver  to  each  ounce  of  gold. 


20 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Four  hundred  and  twenty-three  tons  of  ore  have  been  sold  for 
which  $5,638  were  received.  The  underground  development 
work  aggregates  altogether  3,285  feet.  Up  to  date^the  cost  of 
all  work  done  upon  the  property  amounts  to  $81,125. 

Black  Tail*  — This  mine  is  located  on  a ledge  parallel  with 
and  to  the  east  of  the  Quilp-Surprise  ledge,  and  distant  from  it 
about  400  feet.  The  Black  Tail  ledge  varies  in  width  from  3 to 
8 feet.  The  dip  is  very  irregular  as  descent  is  made.  The  walls 
are  in  the  main  distinct,  but  the  quartz  is  often  frozen  to  the 
walls.  The  quartz  often  extends  as  stringers  into  the  adjoining 
andesite.  The  vein  shows  a banded  structure  that  is  more  pro- 
nounced than  usual.  Thin  seams  of  clay  often  occur  in  cracks 
in  the  quartz.  At  the  southern  end  of  the  Black  Tail  claim  the 
ledge  splits  into  two  parts,  one  part  turning  to  the  left  very 
sharply,  the  other  to  the  right  less  sharply.  Five  stringers  come 
into  the  ledge  from  the  east,  the  largest  one  having  a maximum 
width  of  three  feet. 

Assays  of  the  ore  show  that  10  ounces  of  silver  are  present 
for  each  ounce  of  gold.  About  300  tons  of  ore  have  been  sold, 
200  tons  at  $13  per  ton,  and  100  tons  at  $20  per  ton.  About 
2,000  feet  of  development  work  has  been  done.  The  estimated 
cost  of  all  work  done  upon  the  property,  outside  and  inside  of 
the  mine,  is  placed  at  $50,000. 

San  Poll. — The  San  Poil  mine  is  located  at  the  southern  end 
of  a ledge  which  is  found  on  the  west  side  of,  and  parallel  to, 
Eureka  gulch.  This  ledge  has  been  traced  northward  for  about 
a mile.  On  the  San  Poil  property  the  ledge  has  a strike  of  north 
30  degrees  west,  and  a dip  to  the  eastward  of  about  80  degrees. 
The  ore  occurs  in  distinct  lenses  or  shoots,  which  reach  a maxi- 
mum thickness  of  8 feet.  While  the  vein  filling  is  largely  quartz, 
there  is  more  calcite  present  than  is  usually  found  in  the  Repub- 
lic veins.  Within  the  ledge  an  occasional  horse  is  encountered, 
and  one  small  fault  occurs.  The  walls  are  well  defined,  and 
very  firm,  so  that  only  a small  amount  of  timbering  is  required. 
About  2,200  feet  of  underground  work  has  been  done.  Of  ore 
200  tons  have  been  sold,  for  which  $13  per  ton  were  received. 

Ben  Hur. — This  mine  is  located  immediately  to  the  northward 
of  the  San  Poil,  and  on  the  same  ledge.  This  ledge  shows 
prominently  at  the  surface,  and  is  easily  followed.  The  surface 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


21 


ore  is  scarcely  weathered  and  there  has  been  but  little  leaching. 
On  the  Ben  Hur  the  ore  occurs  in  distinct  shoots,  with  areas 
between  of  broken  wall  rock  seamed  in  all  directions  with  string- 
ers of  quartz.  The  ore  shoots  vary  in  size,  averaging  in  width 
from  6 to  8 feet,  and  one  of  them  was  found  to  be  8o  feet  long. 
The  ore  is  chiefly  quartz,  banded,  and  usually  frozen  to  the 
walls.  The  gold  and  silver  contents  are  found  in  the  propor- 
tion of  one  ounce  of  the  former  to  five  ounces  of  the  latter. 

El  Caliph* — This  mine  is  located  north  of  Granite  creek, 
about  one  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of  the  town  of  Republic. 
The  ledge  has  a strike  of  north  70  degrees  east,  and  a dip  to  the 
southeastward  at  a very  high  angle.  It  is  a quartz  ledge  between 
walls  of  porphyritic  andesite,  varying  in  thickness  from  one  to 
eighteen  inches,  averaging  about  eight  inches.  The  ore  is  much 
iron  stained  at  the  surface,  and  sulphides  will  no  doubt  be  found 
beyond  the  zone  of  surface  alteration.  Free  gold  may  often  be 
seen  in  the  surface  specimens.  Eighty-five  tons  of  ore  have 
been  sold,  yielding  $9,000.  Only  a very  small  quantity  of  silver 
occurs  in  the  ore.  Very  little  development  work  has  been  done 
upon  the  property,  about  450  feet  in  all,  represented  by  a tun- 
nel and  a shaft. 

Morning  Glory* — This  mine  is  located  immediately  to  the 
westward  of  the  El  Caliph,  and  is  presumably  upon  the  same 
ledge.  The  vein  has  a northeast  and  southwest  strike,  and  a 
dip  of  45  degrees  to  the  northwestward.  The  ore  here  is  of  a 
high  grade,  55  tons  having  been  sold  for  $13,807.  Tellurium  is 
found,  indicating  the  presence  of  tellurides  of  gold  and  silver. 
About  1,700  feet  of  development  work  has  been  done,  at  an  esti- 
mated cost  of  $39,000. 

Princess  Maud. — This  mine  is  located  on  the  mountain  side 
west  of  the  San  Poil,  and  very  near  the  Republic  mine.  The 
ledge  has  a north  and  south  strike  with  an  eastward  dip  of  about 
65  degrees.  It  varies  in  width  from  2 *4  to  5 feet,  with  an  aver- 
age of  about  4 feet.  The  walls  are  of  porphyritic  andesite,  and 
very  well  defined.  The  values  are  in  both  silver  and  gold,  the 
former  being  somewhat  in  excess.  A pay  streak  at  the  50-foot 
level  is  being  developed  which  averages  in  value  about  $24  per 
ton.  The  development  work  to  date  consists  of  488  feet  of  tun- 
nel, a winze  of  425  feet,  and  a drift  710  feet  long.  The  greatest 


22 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


depth  reached  is  625  feet.  Steam  power  is  employed,  the  equip- 
ment consisting  of  a Leyner  two-drill  compressor,  Rand  drills, 
boiler,  etc.  Up  to  date  about  $52,000  has  been  spent  in  devel- 
oping the  property. 

Butte  and  Boston* — This  property  is  located  upon  the  same 
ledge  as  the  Princess  Maud.  The  ledge  has  here  also  a north- 
south  strike  and  an  eastward  dip.  The  width  of  the  vein  aver- 
ages 6 feet.  The  average  assay  value  of  the  ore  is  about  $16 
per  ton,  $14  of  which  are  in  gold.  About  1,060  feet  of  under- 
ground development  work  has  been  done,  consisting  of  two 
shafts,  one  265  and  the  other  75  feet;  two  tunnels,  one  285  and 
the  other  35  feet,  and  drifts  aggregating  400  feet.  About  $30,000 
have  been  spent  upon  the  property  to  the  present  time. 


LINCOLN  COUNTY* 


Lincoln  county  lies  practically  altogether  within  the  domain 
of  the  Columbia  basalt,  a formation  in  which  metalliferous  veins 
do  not  occur.  Along  the  northern  boundary  of  the  county,  how- 
ever, especially  near  the  confluence  of  the  Columbia  and  Spokane 
rivers,  metamorphic  rocks  appear  which  were  never  covered  by 
the  lava,  and  in  these  veins  of  ore  occur.  A brief  description  of 
one  of  the  mining  properties  of  the  district  is  here  given. 

Crystal* — In  the  spring  of  1896  the  Crystal  Mining  Com- 
pany, of  Spokane,  began  work  upon  two  ledges  located  one  and 
one-half  miles  to  the  eastward  of  the  mouth  of  the  Spokane 
river.  One  of  these  ledges  is  nine  feet,  and  the  other  eight  feet, 
in  width.  Each  has  a northeast  and  southwest  strike.  In  the 
development  of  the  property  three  shafts  have  been  sunk  having 
an  aggregate  depth  of  425  feet;  drifts  have  also  been  driven  to 
the  extent  of  540  feet.  The  average  assay  value  of  the  ore  is 
about  $40  per  ton  in  silver  and  lead.  About  500  tons  of  ore  lie 
on  the  dump  ready  for  shipment.  The  company  has  a 32  h.  p. 
hoisting  engine  and  a 50  h.  p.  boiler.  The  total  cost  of  all  de- 
velopment work  is  estimated  at  $28,000.  (John  Gray,  manager, 
Spokane.) 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


23 


OKANOGAN  COUNTY* 


Okanogan  county  lies  north  of  Chelan  and  Douglas  counties 
and  west  of  Ferry.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  counties  in  the  state 
and  the  one  farthest  removed  from  railway  facilities.  It  pos- 
sesses no  features,  however,  which  would  make  railway  construc- 
tion impossible  anywhere  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  county. 

In  its  topographical  aspects  Okanogan  county  is  characterized 
by  considerable  diversity.  In  a general  way  the  southern  and 
eastern  parts  of  the  county  are  regions  of  broad  valleys,  rolling 
hills  and  level  plateaus ; the  northwestern  portion  of  the  county 
is  a district  of  high  mountains,  being  typical  of  the  rugged  parts 
of  the  Cascades.  The  Okanogan  river  is  a very  sluggish  stream 
flowing  in  an  old  valley  remarkable  for  its  breadth.  The  Met- 
how,  especially  in  its  lower  reaches,  also  flows  in  a broad,  fertile 
valley,  and  is  bordered  by  rolling  hills.  Glaciers  have  passed 
down  both  the  Methow  and  Okanogan  valleys  and  have  left 
traces  of  their  former  presence  in  the  shape  of  terraces  and  mo- 
raines. The  lower  parts  of  Okanogan  county  along  the  Columbia, 
Okanogan,  and  lower  Methow  rivers,  possess  a rainfall  which 
does  not  exceed  ten  inches  per  year,  and  as  a consequence 
desert-like  conditions  prevail  and  agriculture  may  be  carried  on 
only  by  the  aid  of  irrigation.  In  those  parts  of  the  county  pos- 
sessing a greater  altitude,  notably  the  northern  and  northwestern 
portions,  the  country  is  forest  clad.  The  western  portion  of  the 
county  is  very  well  forested  and  is  included  within  the  Washing- 
ton forest  reserve. 

Okanogan  county  is  largely  a region  of  ancient  metamorphic 
rocks,  with  large  areas  of  granite.  At  several  places  in  the  county 
there  are  small  areas  of  sedimentary  rocks  which  represent  the 
later  geological  times.  These  areas  are  small  because  they  rep- 
resent deposits  made  in  former  lakes.  In  both  the  older  meta- 
morphic rocks  and  the  younger  sedimentaries  there  have  been 
many  intrusions  of  igneous  rock  of  various  kinds  which  tend  to 
complicate  the  geological  structure. 

In  nearly  all  parts  of  Okanogan  county  veins  of  ore  occur, 
many  of  which  are  of  economic  importance.  Development  work 


24  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


upon  the  ore  bodies  has  been  in  progress  for  several  years,  in 
most  instances  with  gratifying  results.  The  ore  for  the  most 
part  is  such  that  requires  smelting  in  order  to  extract  the  precious 
metals,  although  some  free  gold  occurs.  The  absence  of  easy 
shipping  facilities  has  militated  against  the  rapid  development 
of  the  mines.  The  principal  mining  districts  in  the  county  are 
those  of  Wauconda,  Myers  Creek,  Palmer  Mountain,  Conconully, 
Moses,  Upper  Methow,  Twisp,  and  Squaw  Creek. 

WAUCONDA  DISTRICT. 

This  district  is  located  near  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
county,  about  twenty  miles  south  of  the  international  boundary 
and  twelve  miles  northwest  of  Republic.  It  is  situated  at  the 
headwaters  of  Granite  creek,  a stream  which  unites  with  the  San 
Poil  at  Republic.  The  district  is  practically  upon  the  north- 
south  divide  which  separates  the  eastward  flowing  streams  from 
those  whose  courses  are  westward  to  the  Okanogan.  The  topog- 
raphy of  the  district  is  not  of  the  rugged  type,  the  hills  and  ridges 
being  low  and  as  a rule  possessing  rounded  forms.  The  yearly 
precipitation  is  low,  but  of  a quantity  to  support  a moderate 
forest  growth.  The  trees  are  not  large  and  do  not  stand  very 
close  together,  yet  the  timber  is  in  sufficient  quantity  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  large  mining  operations  for  many  years. 

The  oldest  rocks  of  the  Wauconda  district  consist  essentially 
of  gneiss,  schist,  crystalline  limestone,  slate,  and  other  meta- 
morphics  which  have  been  greatly  dislocated  by  intruded  masses 
of  granite.  Both  the  metamorphic  rocks  and  the  granite  often 
contain  within  and  upon  them  intruded  and  extruded  masses  of 
porphyritic  andesite,  and  basalt.  Some  of  the  hills  are  capped 
by  horizontal  layers  of  basalt,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  last 
rock  outpoured.  Granite  constitutes  the  axis  of  the  divide  above 
mentioned.  Going  eastward  from  the  granite  one  passes  over 
gneiss,  schist,  and  slate,  in  beds  dipping  very  steeply  to  the  east- 
ward. To  the  eastward  of  the  metamorphics  a small  intrusion  of 
granite  is  next  encountered,  followed  by  porphyry  and  basalt. 

The  ore  bodies  of  the  Wauconda  district  which  occur  for  the 
most  part  as  fissure  veins  in  the  metamorphic  rocks,  are  charac- 
terized by  their  great  size.  The  vein  filling  is  quartz,  with  a little 
calcite,  carrying  free  gold  in  a very  fine  state.  In  most  respects 
the  ore  does  not  differ  essentially  from  much  of  the  ore  found  in 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


25 


the  Republic  district.  The  Wauconda  district  takes  its  name 
from  the  mine  of  that  name  which  was  the  first  located,  and  is 
now  much  the  best  developed,  in  that  locality. 

Wauconda*  — The  Wauconda  property  consists  of  thirty-two 
claims,  twenty-two  of  them  in  the  main  group  near  the  town  of 
Wauconda,  and  ten  in  another  group  about  three  miles  distant. 
On  the  property  there  is  a series  of  wide  parallel  veins,  having  a 
strike  a little  west  of  north,  and  traceable  for  considerable  dis- 
tances. The  two  main  ledges  are  the  Oregonian  and  the  Wau- 
conda. The  main  tunnel,  No.  5,  which  runs  almost  due  west, 
nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  vein,  struck  the  former  ledge  about 
700  feet  from  the  mouth,  and  left  it  at  770  feet,  while  the  face  of 
the  tunnel,  at  present  1,025  feet  in,  indicates  that  the  Wauconda 
ledge  is  near  at  hand.  These  ledges  or  mineralized  zones,  pre- 
sent a very  remarkable  condition  in  the  magnitude  of  the  miner- 
alized portion  of  the  mountain.  The  veins  run  about  30  degrees 
west  of  north  and  dip  about  60  degrees,  the  hanging  wall  being 
to  the  east.  Where  the  mam  tunnel,  which  is  about  500  feet 
below  the  apex  of  Wauconda  mountain,  cuts  through  the  first 
mineralized  zone  the  vein  has  a width  of  152  feet.  While  most 
of  this  is  very  low  grade  ore,  yet  assays  never  fail  to  show 
some  gold  throughout  its  extent.  One  portion  of  this,  of  solid 
quartz  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  width  that  has  been  drifted  upon 
both  north  and  south,  shows  values  of  from  $10  to  $20  per  ton. 

The  Oregonian  ledge,  the  one  which  is  at  present  best  devel- 
oped, is  encountered  in  the  tunnel  at  570  feet  and  is  not  passed 
through  until  770  feet  is  reached.  The  portion  of  this  from  570 
to  700  feet  is  low  grade  like  the  first  ledge  and  is  composed  of 
mixed  quartz  and  the  slaty  country  rock.  Solid  quartz,  how- 
ever, commences  at  700  feet  and  continues  to  the  foot  wall. 
The  40  feet  of  ore  from  700  to  740  feet  is  the  main  ore  body  of 
the  mine.  This  has  been  drifted  upon  to  the  northward  and  the 
southward  from  a chamber  which  has  been  cut  at  a distance  of 
726  feet  from  the  tunnel  mouth.  The  south  drift  has  been  ex- 
tended 50  feet,  and  the  north  drift  80  feet,  thus  opening  up  the 
ledge  for  a length  of  130  feet.  The  ore  from  this  ledge  has  been 
very  thoroughly  sampled  by  small  average  assay  samples,  and 
again  by  50  and  100  pound  samples  worked  in  the  sampling 
mill.  The  values  obtained  varied  from  $5  to  $50,  but  the 
greater  number  ranged  from  $10  to  $20;  a general  average  of 


26 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


$12  for  the  part  of  this  ore  body  already  in  sight  is  conservative. 
The  different  portions  of  the  ledge  opened  up  by  the  drifts  show 
a fairly  uniform  quality  and  value  of  ore. 

It  is  expected  that  the  main  tunnel  will  very  soon  reach  the 
Wauconda  ledge.  This  ledge  is  partially  developed  by  tunnel 
No.  4 at  about  250  feet  below  the  top  of  the  mountain.  In  this 
tunnel  drifts  have  been  made  on  the  ledge  aggregating  215  feet 
and  two  cross  cuts  have  been  driven,  one  westward  to  the  foot 
wall,  28  feet,  and  eastward  56  feet  toward,  but  not  reaching,  the 
hanging  wall.  The  values  encountered  were  very  satisfactory, 
especially  toward  the  hanging  wall.  Tunnel  No.  1 developed 
the  Oregonian  ledge  near  the  surface,  as  No.  4 did  the  Wau- 
conda ledge,  and  as  shown  by  these  two  tunnels  the  latter  ledge 
is  richer.  Therefore  it  is  expected  that  when  the  main  tunnel 
encounters  the  Wauconda  ledge  it  will  prove  to  be  another  ledge 
of  as  great  magnitude  and  value  as  the  Oregonian  ledge  already 
described.  Besides  these  ledges,  three  other  large  ones  have 
been  prospected  on  the  property  which  the  tunnel  will  even- 
tually develop.  The  mill  which  has  been  erected  to  treat  the 
ores  from  the  Wauconda  mine  is  described  under  the  section 
headed  Reduction  Plants. 

MYERS  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

This  district  lies  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  in 
the  drainage  basin  of  Myers  creek,  and  round  about  the  small 
towns  of  Chesaw  and  Bolster.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  that 
of  a plateau,  having  a height  of  3,000  to  4,000  feet  above  the  sea, 
with  low  hills  and  ridges  lying  upon  it.  The  slopes  are  so  gentle 
that  a deep  soil  has  accumulated  and  outcrops  of  bed-rock  are  of 
rather  uncommon  occurrence.  The  soil  is  very  fertile  and  sup- 
ports a rich  growth  of  bunch-grass,  the  precipitation  not  being 
large  enough  to  induce  forest  growth  except  upon  the  higher 
hills. 

The  rock  formation  is  chiefly  granite,  with  different  varieties 
of  eruptive  rocks.  Some  of  the  ore  veins  are  associated  with 
eruptive  masses  of  serpentine.  The  ore  bodies  of  the  district 
are  usually  made  up  of  the  common  sulphides,  iron  pyrite,  chal- 
copyrite,  galena  and  sphalerite,  with  quartz  and  calcite  as  the 
gangue  minerals.  The  ore  is  of  a character  that  requires  smelter 
treatment  in  order  to  obtain  the  values,  which  consist  of  gold 
and  silver  with  a little  copper. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


27 


Monterey. — This  property,  belonging  to  the  Monterey  Gold 
Mining  Company,  is  located  three  miles  south  of  the  international 
boundary  line  and  four  miles  west  of  the  Ferry  county  line.  The 
ledge  reaches  a maximum  width  of  35  feet,  and  carries  gold,  silver, 
copper,  and  lead.  The  best  ore  yields  assays  varying  from  $50 
to  $85  per  ton.  The  ore  contains  a considerable  quantity  of  iron 
and  lime,  making  it  to  a certain  extent  self-fluxing  when  smelted. 
A main  tunnel  728  feet  in  length  has  been  driven,  striking  the 
vein  at  a vertical  depth  of  300  feet.  Several  shafts  have  been 
sunk  and  a number  of  drifts  made,  bringing  the  total  amount  of 
development  work  up  to  1,000  feet.  ( M.  M.  Walsh,  superin- 
tendent, Oakesdale.) 

Yakima. — This  property  is  located  near  Chesaw  and  belongs 
to  the  Yakima  Mining  and  Milling  Company.  The  ore  is  found 
in  serpentine,  either  disseminated  through  it  or  occurring  in 
ledges.  The  ledges  are  several  in  number,  with  parallel  courses, 
and  as  a rule  are  but  a few  inches  in  width.  The  largest  vein 
varies  from  four  to  six  feet  in  width,  and  contains  bands  of  solid 
ore.  The  metallic  minerals  are  chalcopyrite,  galena,  sphalerite, 
and  iron  pyrite,  carrying  gold  and  silver.  The  veins  have  an 
east  and  west  strike  with  a southward  dip  of  25  degrees. 

Review. — The  Review  Gold  Mining  Company,  of  Spokane, 
has  two  claims  located  near  Bolster.  The  ore  body  lies  between 
walls  of  granite  and  slate.  The  metallic  minerals  consist  chiefly 
of  chalcopyrite  and  iron  pyrite,  with  quartz  and  calcite  as  gangue 
minerals.  The  development  work  consists  chiefly  of  two  tun- 
nels which  have  been  driven  on  the  vein,  one  having  a length  of 
360  feet,  and  the  other  a length  of  813  feet.  There  is  a large 
amount  of  ore  on  the  dump.  A smelter  test  of  50  tons  taken 
from  various  places  on  the  ledge  is  said  to  have  given  an  aver- 
age assay  of  $17.20  per  ton,  the  principal  value  being  in  gold. 

Mary  Ann  Creek  Placers.  — On  Mary  Ann  creek,  a small 
stream  emptying  into  Myers  creek  near  Chesaw,  placer  gold  was 
discovered  in  1888,  and  the  placers  have  been  worked  in  a small 
way  ever  since  that  date.  Fourteen  claims  are  located  on  the 
creek,  nearly  all  of  which  are  worked  each  season.  The  gold 
occurs  from  the  grass  roots  downward  through  the  washed  gravel 
to  bed  rock.  About  four  feet  above  bed  rock  a seven-inch  seam 
of  clay  occurs,  immediately  above  which  the  gravel  is  richer 


28  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


than  elsewhere.  The  gold  is  coarse,  no  mercury  is  used,  and 
nearly  all  of  the  gold  is  caught  in  the  first  riffle.  No  trees  or 
tree-roots  are  found  upon  the  claims,  and  hence  the  ground  is 
easily  worked. 

PALMER  MOUNTAIN  DISTRICT. 

In  this  report  Palmer  mountain  district  is  made  to  include 
that  part  of  Okanogan  county  lying  between  Okanogan  river 
and  Gold  hill,  and  from  the  international  boundary  to  the  vicin- 
ity of  Loomis.  This  district  came  into  prominence  a number  of 
years  ago  because  of  the  large  bodies  of  quartz  which  it  con- 
tains, but  development  work  has  been  hampered  by  the  long 
haul  from  the  railroad  that  is  necessary  in  order  to  secure  min- 
ing supplies  and  machinery.  In  spite  of  every  obstacle,  how- 
ever, work  on  many  properties  has  been  steadily  carried  on,  so 
that  in  the  total  amount  of  its  development  the  district  is  ex- 
ceeded by  but  one  or  two  others  in  Washington. 

Palmer  mountain,  having  a height  above  the  bordering  val- 
leys of  about  4,000  feet,  occupies  the  central  part  of  the  district. 
This  mountain  has  a very  broad  base,  and  slopes  so  gentle  that 
wagon  roads  are  easily  constructed  upon  all  sides  of  it,  except 
the  west.  Palmer  mountain  is  surrounded  by  broad,  low  valleys, 
the  Spectacle  lake  depression  lying  at  the  southern  foot,  the 
Wannicutt  lake  basin  at  the  east,  with  Simlahekin  creek  and 
Palmer  lake  as  the  western  boundaries,  and  the  Similkameen 
river  skirting  the  mountain  on  the  north.  To  the  west  of  Pal- 
mer mountain,  and  beyond  the  valley  of  the  Simlahekin  and 
Palmer  lake,  lies  Gold  hill  and  Mount  Chapaca,  two  of  the 
bolder  outliers  of  the  Cascades.  The  region  under  considera- 
tion has  a rainfall  of  but  ten  to  fifteen  inches  per  year,  and  as  a 
consequence  the  higher  parts  only  are  forested,  the  remaining 
areas  being  covered  with  bunch-grass  and  sage  brush. 

Palmer  mountain  district  is  a region  of  old  metamorphic 
rocks,  mainly  schist,  slate,  gneiss,  quartzite  and  crystalline  lime- 
stone. These  formations  show  conspicuously  from  about  the 
middle  of  Palmer  mountain  eastward  to  the  Okanogan  river.  At 
some  places,  notably  at  White  Rock  bluffs,  unmetamorphosed 
sedimentary  rocks  occur,  consisting  of  conglomerate,  sandstone, 
slate  and  limestone.  These  beds  are  seemingly  non-fossilifer- 
ous,  but  from  their  lithologic  resemblance  to  rocks  of  determined 
age  found  to  the  east  and  to  the  west  of  them,  they  are  doubtless 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


29 


of  early  Tertiary  age.  Eruptive  rocks  are  very  common,  mainly 
granite  and  diorite,  with  different  kinds  of  porphyry.  Gold 
hill  is  a mass  of  granite,  with  intrusions  of  porphyry.  The 
western  half  of  Palmer  mountain  to  the  metamorphic  contact 
above  noted,  is  made  up  of  diorite,  seamed  with  porphyry  dikes. 

The  ore  veins  are  essentially  of  two  kinds,  quartz  veins,  and 
those  in  which  the  sulphide  minerals  predominate.  The  quartz 
veins  usually  carry  free  gold  at  the  surface,  but  this  disappears 
with  depth  and  sulphides  make  their  appearance.  In  some 
cases  enough  quartz  bearing  free  gold  has  been  found  to  warrant 
the  establishment  of  stamp  mills,  several  of  which  are  found  in 
the  district.  The  sulphide  veins  consist  mainly  of  pyrrhotite, 
iron  pyrite,  sphalerite,  and  chalcopyrite,  with  calcite  and  quartz 
as  gangue  minerals.  These  veins  carry  both  gold  and  silver, 
the  former  affording  the  larger  amount. 

In  the  Palmer  mountain  district  the  mining  claims  have  been 
segregated  into  large  groups,  which  are  controlled  and  operated 
by  different  companies.  This  arrangement  is  made  possible  by 
the  fact  that  parallel  ledges  often  occur  so  near  together  that  it 
is  advantageous  to  develop  them  as  a group. 

Palmer  Mountain. — The  Palmer  Mountain  Gold  Mining  and 
Tunnel  Company’s  group  of  fifty-six  claims  forms  a compact 
body  on  the  southwest  slope  of  Palmer  mountain,  near  Loomis, 
and  extends  from  the  base  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  In 
the  development  of  this  property  a main  tunnel  eight  by  nine 
feet  in  cross  section,  has  been  driven  in  from  the  base  of  the 
mountain,  a distance  of  4,000  feet.  This  tunnel  is  perfectly 
straight  and  with  no  more  slope  than  is  necessary  to  secure  good 
drainage.  At  the  end  of  the  tunnel  a vertical  depth  of  1,40a 
feet  has  been  attained.  The  tunnel  is  all  the  way  in  diorite,  ex- 
cept for  the  dikes  which  were  passed  through.  In  the  4,000 
feet  of  tunnel  twenty-eight  veins  of  ore  were  cross-cut,  a num- 
ber of  which  are  small  and  which  do  not  appear  on  the  surface. 
Parallel  with  the  dikes,  which  are  older  than  the  veins,  are  cer- 
tain shear  zones  where  the  rock  is  much  broken  and  a schistosity 
is  developed.  The  shear  zones  are  mineralized,  which  probably 
took  place  at  the  time  when  the  veins  were  formed. 

The  power  plant  of  this  company  is  located  near  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  and  consists  of  an  Ingersoll-Sargeant  air  compressor, 
air  receivers  and  pipes,  three  air  drills,  a 55  h.  p.  boiler,  a. 


30  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


40-inch  blower  and  exhauster  driven  by  a ig  h.  p.  engine,  with 
the  necessary  blacksmith  and  machine  shops.  On  Toats  Coulee 
creek,  about  a mile  and  a half  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  the 
company  owns  a water  power  capable  of  developing  3,000  h.  p. 

Gold  HilL — This  mine  is  located  on  Gold  hill  about  three 
miles  west  of  Loomis.  The  company  owning  this  mine  have  al- 
together eighty-six  claims,  upon  which  a number  of  ledges  are 
found.  At  the  present  time  the  development  work  is  being  done 
largely  on  one  vein,  which  has  an  average  width  of  about  four  feet. 
This  vein  has  a northeast  and  southwest  strike  and  a dip  of  75 
degrees  to  the  northwest.  It  is  a true  fissure  vein  with  walls  of 
granite.  The  vein  is  filled  with  massive  quartz,  occasionally 
banded  with  iron  pyrite,  chalcopyrite,  galena,  sphalerite,  and 
copper  carbonate,  carrying  gold  and  silver.  About  4,000  feet  of 
underground  development  has  been  done,  consisting  of  drifts  and 
crosscuts.  Water  power  is  employed  to  run  a 50  h.  p.  com- 
pressor and  the  saw  mill.  To  secure  the  proper  fall  a flume  four 
by  four  feet  in  cross  section  and  one  mile  long  has  been  con- 
structed along  the  side  of  Toat’s  Coulee  creek. 

Golden  Zone.  — The  Golden  Zone  mine  is  located  on  the 
Similkameen  river,  sixteen  miles  north  of  Loomis,  and  three 
miles  from  the  British  Columbia  boundary.  On  the  property 
there  are  three  parallel  ledges  which  outcrop  on  the  face  of  a 
granite  cliff,  which  fronts  the  valley.  The  one  ledge  which  is 
being  developed  has  a northeast  and  southwest  strike,  with  a dip 
to  the  northwest  varying  from  45  degrees  to  80  degrees.  The 
vein  when  followed  along  its  course  widens  and  narrows,  vary- 
ing from  a few  inches  to  four  feet  in  thickness.  The  ore  body 
consists  of  quartz  carrying  chalcopyrite,  galena,  iron  pyrite, 
molybdenite,  and  a little  free  gold.  A large  amount  of  ore  has 
been  removed  from  the  mine  and  treated  in  the  stamp  mill  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain.  Whatever  free  gold  the  ore  contains  is 
caught  on  the  plates,  while  the  cencentrates  are  shipped  to 
Everett  and  Tacoma. 

Bull  Frog. — On  the  summit  and  west  slope  of  Palmer 
mountain  and  the  west  slope  of  Little  Mount  Chapaca,  there  is 
a group  of  fifty-one  claims  belonging  to  the  Bull  Frog  Gold 
Mining  Company.  Most  of  the  claims  were  located  about  1889, 
and  active  development  has  been  carried  on  from  1893  to  the 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


31 


present  time.  Eight  veins  have  had  more  or  less  done  upon 
them.  They  vary  in  width  from  eighteen  inches  to  twenty-five 
feet,  and  strike  northwest  and  southeast.  The  total  amount  of 
underground  work  is  represented  by  1200  feet  of  tunnels,  drifts, 
etc.  There  is  now  on  the  dump  several  thousand  tons  of  ore. 
A test  run  of  ten  tons  yielded  $17  per  ton,  of  which  $12  was  in 
gold  and  $5  in  silver.  The  company  has  erected  a cyanide  mill 
of  60  tons  daily  capacity,  run  by  steam.  (Adelbert  Hart,  presi- 
dent, Oakland,  California.) 

Black  Bear  and  War  Eagle* — These  mines  lie  adjacent  one 
to  another  on  the  northwest  slope  of  Palmer  mountain,  about 
four  miles  from  Loomis.  There  are  three  veins  on  the  Black 
Bear,  two  of  which  have  been  worked.  On  the  War  Eagle  there 
is  but  one  vein.  The  Black  Bear  veins  are  almost  four  feet 
wide;  that  of  the  War  Eagle  is  five  feet  wide.  They  all  strike 
northwest  and  southeast,  and  dip  to  the  northeast.  The  ore  is 
chiefly  quartz,  carrying  free  gold  in  the  oxidized  portion  of  the 
vein,  with  sulphides  below.  It  averages  in  value  about  $18  in 
gold,  silver  and  copper,  chiefly  in  the  first  of  these.  In  the 
Black  Bear  about  2500  feet  of  underground  development  work 
has  been  done,  and  on  the  War  Eagle  500  feet.  In  Loomis  there 
has  been  erected  a plant  to  treat  the  ore,  consisting  of  a five- 
stamp  mill  and  a concentrator,  all  run  by  water  power.  The 
value  of  the  ore  mined  and  sold  up  to  date  amounts  to  $150,000. 
This  sum  also  represents  approximately  the  amount  that  has 
been  expended  in  developing  the  two  properties.  (John  Boyd, 
Loomis.) 

Tribune* — This  property  is  located  on  the  east  slope  of 
Palmer  mountain,  and  embraces  three  claims.  On  these  claims 
there  are  four  veins,  having  an  average  width  of  about  five  feet. 
They  have  a northwest  and  southeast  strike  with  a dip  to  the 
southwest.  The  average  assay  value  of  the  ore  in  gold  and  sil- 
ver is  about  $12.  About  1400  feet  of  underground  development 
work  has  been  done,  and  40,000  tons  of  ore  have  been  mined. 
A ten-stamp  mill  has  been  erected  on  the  property.  T.he  power 
employed  is  a 65  h.  p.  boiler  for  the  mill,  two  15  h.  p.  boilers 
for  the  hoist,  and  10  h.  p.  for  running  four  Frue  vanners.  (John 
Boyd,  Loomis.) 

Whiskey  Hill  ♦ — The  Whiskey  Hill  group  of  twenty-one 
claims  lies  at  the  eastern  foot  of  Palmer  mountain,  nine  miles 


32  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


from  Loomis,  near  Wannicut  lake.  A shaft  has  been  sunk  a 
depth  of  170  feet,  and  730  feet  of  tunnel  driven.  There  is  a 
large  amount  of  ore  on  the  dump,  being  the  contents  of  a tunnel 
seven  by  nine  feet  in  cross-section  and  650  feet  long.  The  aver- 
age assay  value  is  $7.50  in  gold.  Thus  far  all  the  drilling  has 
been  done  by  hand.  Work  was  begun  on  the  property  in  April, 
1897,  and  since  that  time  $ 16,600  has  been  spent  in  development 
work.  (William  Lewis,  Superintendent.) 

CONCONULLY  DISTRICT. 

This  district  includes  a large  area  about  Conconully,  chiefly 
within  the  drainage  basin  of  Conconully  creek,  but  extending  as 
far  northward  as  the  Q.  S.  property.  The  district  is  chiefly  one 
of  rolling  hills,  being  located  on  the  borderland  between  the 
Okanogan  valley  and  the  Cascade  mountains.  The  country  is 
deeply  soil-covered,  the  rainfall  is  light,  the  vegetation  ranges 
from  sage  brush  and  bunch-grass  to  a heavy  forest  growth,  de- 
pending upon  the  altitude  and  amount  of  precipitation. 

The  bed  rock  of  the  district  consists  chiefly  of  granite,  schist 
and  gneiss,  with  various  intrusive  rocks  of  later  times.  Both 
quartz  and  sulphide  ledges  are  found,  the  latter  predominating. 
The  greatest  amount  of  development  work  in  the  district  has 
been  done  upon  some  silver-lead  veins,  located  near  the  towns 
of  Ruby  and  Conconully.  These  properties  were  worked  very 
energetically  previous  to  the  decline  in  silver  some  years  ago. 
The  mines  will  doubtless  become  producers  again  whenever  the 
building  of  a railway  into  the  district  makes  it  possible  to  ship 
the  ore  to  a smelter.  Meanwhile  upon  a number  of  the  prop- 
erties prospecting  and  development  work  is  being  steadily  car- 
ried on. 

Q.  S* — Midway  between  Loomis  and  Conconully,  and  eleven 
miles  from  either  point,  there  is  a group  of  twenty-four  claims 
belonging  to  the  Q.  S.  Gold  Mining  and  Smelting  Company  of 
Spokane.  There  are  six  veins  in  the  property  which  can  be 
traced  on  the  surface  for  the  full  length  of  three  claims.  All  of 
the  veins  have  been  worked  to  a limited  extent.  Their  strike  is 
northeast  and  southwest  and  the  dip  is  to  the  southeast.  The 
average  assay  value  in  gold  and  copper  is  $14  per  ton.  The 
claims  were  located  in  1897,  and  work  was  begun  upon  them 
about  that  time.  About  1,240  feet  of  underground  development 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


33 


work  has  been  done,  including  shafts,  crosscuts,  etc.  (S.  E. 
Barron,  president,  Spokane.) 

Blue  Lake* — The  Blue  Lake  Gold  and  Copper  Mining, 
Smelting  and  Power  Company  owns  a group  of  twenty  claims 
on  Goat  mountain,  midway  between  Loomis  and  Conconully, 
which  they  started  to  open  up  in  the  summer  of  1901.  They 
have  drifted  a few  hundred  feet  on  the  principal  vein  and  have 
taken  out  about  5,000  tons  of  ore,  assaying  from  three  to  eleven 
dollars  in  gold,  and  from  three  to  forty-nine  per  cent,  in  copper. 
There  are  six  veins,  from  one  to  three  feet  wide,  all  standing 
nearly  perpendicular.  Hand  work  has  so  far  been  employed, 
but  the  company  expects  to  utilize  water  power  for  drilling  and 
other  purposes.  (C.  T.  McElroy,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.) 

Tough  Nut* — One  mile  north  of  Conconully  on  the  east  side 
of  Salmon  river,  is  the  Tough  Nut  mine.  The  property  consists 
of  three  claims  belonging  to  the  Salmon  River  Mining  and 
Smelting  Company.  There  are  two  veins,  one  of  them  fourteen 
inches  wide  and  the  other  two  feet.  They  stand  almost  perpen- 
dicular and  strike  north  and  south.  Altogether  about  $5,000 
has  been  expended  in  development  work,  including  ore  bins  and 
ore  chute,  and  300  feet  of  shafts  and  tunnels.  Five  hundred 
tons  of  ore  have  been  taken  out,  having  an  estimated  total  value 
of  $9,000  in  silver  and  lead.  (J.  W.  Douglas,  president;  E.  C. 
Gurnel,  secretary.) 

Homestake* — The  same  company  which  owns  the  Tough  Nut 
also  owns  the  Homestake  mine,  adjoining  the  Tough  Nut  on  the 
south.  On  the  Homestake  about  $4,000  have  been  spent  in  run- 
ning a tunnel  which  is  now  260  feet  in  length.  The  ledge  is 
about  twenty  feet  wide  and  carries  silver-lead  ore  averaging  about 
$15  per  ton.  Three  claims  have  been  staked  upon  the  main 
ledge.  It  strikes  northwest  and  southeast  and  dips  to  the  south- 
west. Up  to  the  present  time  400  tons  of  ore  have  been  mined. 
One  hundred  tons  have  been  sold,  for  which  $1,500  was  received. 
( J.  W.  Douglas,  president;  E.  C.  Gurnel,  secretary.) 

Arlington* — This  mine  is  located  on  Ruby  mountain,  five 
miles  south  of  Conconully.  There  are  two  claims,  the  Arlington 
and  the  Pomeroy,  both  patented.  The  vein  is  large,  averaging 
28  feet  in  width  at  the  200-foot  level.  It  has  a north  and  south 


3 — II 


34  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


strike,  with  a westward  dip.  The  principal  values  are  in  silver, 
those  of  copper  and  gold  being  irregular.  The  underground 
development  consists  of  about  2,800  feet  of  work,  mainly  repre- 
sented by  a 200-foot  shaft  with  three  drifts.  About  1,000  tons  of 
ore  have  been  sold  for  which  nearly  $25,000  was  received.  (H. 
S.  Stoolfire,  owner,  Spokane,  Wash,) 

MOSES  DISTRICT. 

This  district  is  located  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  Okanogan 
county,  in  the  region  drained  by  the  Nespelim  river  and  its  trib- 
utaries. It  is  one  of  the  newest  districts  in  the  state,  having 
been  created  since  the  Colville  Indian  reservation  was  thrown 
open  to  mineral  entry  in  1898.  It  is  a region  of  low  bunch-grass 
hills,  where  the  rainfall  is  slight,  and  where  trees  grow  sparingly. 

Multnomah. — The  Multnomah  group  of  ten  claims  lies  three 
and  a half  miles  northwest  of  the  Nespelim  agency.  There  are 
ten  veins  varying  from  three  to  seventy-five  feet  in  width.  They 
all  strike  southwest  and  northeast  and  dip  to  the  southeast.  They 
vary  in  richness  from  $5  to  $50  per  ton  in  gold,  silver,  copper 
and  lead.  A number  of  small  openings  have  been  made,  aggre- 
gating about  200  feet,  and  costing  about  $5,000.  (Dr.  F.  O. 
Hudnut.  manager,  Spokane.) 

Apache.  — The  Apache  claim  is  located  one  mile  west  of  the 
Nespelim  agency.  There  is  one  vein  on  the  claim,  having  a 
width  of  twelve  feet.  It  stands  nearly  perpendicular  and  strikes 
east  and  west.  A fifty-foot  shaft  has  been  sunk  on  the  vein  and 
a little  drifting  done,  costing  all  told  about  $1,000.  Five  tons  of 
ore  have  been  mined  and  sold  having  a value  of  $700  per  ton. 
Nearly  all  the  values  are  in  silver,  but  there  is  a little  gold 
present.  (Dr.  F.  O.  Hudnut,  Spokane.) 

Great  Western. — The  Great  Western  group  of  three  claims 
is  situated  four  and  a half  miles  west  of  the  Nespelim  agency  and 
six  miles  from  the  Columbia  river.  About  $1,000  has  been  spent 
in  development  work.  There  is  now  about  100  tons  of  ore  on  the 
dump  assaying  as  high  as  $75  per  ton  in  silver  and  lead.  The 
ores  are  sulphides  and  carbonates.  (Great  Western  Mining 
Company,  Spokane.) 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


35 


UPPER  METHOW  DISTRICT. 

This  district  embraces  the  country  drained  by  the  Upper 
Methow,  and  is  one  possessing  a rugged  topography  because  of 
its  nearness  to  the  summit  of  the  Cascades.  The  precipitation 
is  sufficient  to  insure  a fine  forest  growth,  the  whole  district  be- 
ing included  in  the  Washington  Forest  Reserve.  The  district  is 
entered  usually  by  way  of  the  open  valley  of  the  lower  Methow, 
along  which  good  roads  have  been  constructed. 

The  district  is  one  of  metamorphic  rocks,  gneiss  and  schist, 
with  various  eruptive  masses,  often  of  granite.  Thick  deposits 
of  sedimentary  rocks  also  occur,  consisting  mostly  of  sandstone 
and  conglomerate. 

Methow* — On  the  south  fork  of  the  Methow  river  the  Methow 
Gold  and  Copper  Mining  Company  has  a group  of  seven  claims 
located  on  McKinney  mountain,  upon  which  some  development 
work  has  been  done.  The  work  has  been  done  mostly  upon  one 
vein  which  is  about  eight  feet  wide  and  which  carries  a pay 
streak  varying  from  two  to  four  feet  in  width.  The  vein  stands 
almost  perpendicular  and  strikes  northeast  and  southwest.  The 
ore  is  largely  chalcopyrite,  and  assays  from  2.2  ounces  to  20.2 
ounces  silver,  and  from  3.8  per  cent,  to  25.5  per  cent,  copper 
per  ton.  Tunnel  No.  1 has  been  driven  on  the  ledge  a distance 
of  about  120  feet,  and  from  it  a winze  50  feet  deep  has  been 
sunk  to  ascertain  the  dip  of  the  vein.  Tunnel  No.  2 is  now  be- 
ing driven  for  a working  tunnel,  and  will  cut  the  ledge  300  feet 
below  tunnel  No.  1.  This  tunnel  is  now  in  a distance  of  165 
feet.  The  estimated  cost  of  all  development  work,  including 
tunnels,  buildings,  etc.,  is  $5,000.  (B.  R.  Ostrander,  president, 

Spokane). 

Oriental  and  Central. — These  claims  are  located  on  a vein 
six  feet  wide  carrying  about  $10  per  ton  in  gold.  The  company 
has  sunk  one  shaft  60  feet,  another  shaft  40  feet,  and  run  an 
adit  tunnel  270  feet.  Work  was  begun  in  September,  1900,  and 
since  then  $5,000  has  been  expended  in  development  work.  The 
claims  belong  to  the  Oriental  Mining  Company.  (John  R.  Cas- 
sin,  president,  Spokane). 

Goat  Creek. — On  Goat  Creek  there  is  a group  of  nine  claims 
belonging  to  the  Goat  Creek  Mining  Company,  of  Spokane.  All 


36 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


the  development  work  has  been  done  upon  one  vein  which  is 
about  five  feet  wide.  The  vein  strikes  north  30  degrees  east, 
and  dips  southeast  at  an  angle  of  from  60  degrees  to  75  degrees. 
One  shaft  has  been  sunk  127  feet  and  another  one  25  feet.  An 
adit  tunnel  has  been  driven  350  feet  and  about  50  feet  of  drifting 
done.  Up  to  the  present  time  no  ore  has  been  sold.  The  aver- 
age value  of  the  ore  is  gold  $2,  silver  14  ounces,  copper  16  per 
cent.  Altogether  about  $9,000  has  been  spent  in  development 
work.  (John  R.  Cassin,  manager,  Spokane). 

TWISP  DISTRICT. 

This  district  is  included  within  the  drainage  basin  of  the 
Twisp,  a river  of  about  thirty  miles  in  length  which  enters  the 
Methow  from  the  westward.  The  Twisp  rises  among  mountains 
varying  in  height  from  6,000  to  8,000  feet,  whose  slopes  are 
heavily  forest-covered.  Along  the  lower  course  of  the  stream  the 
bordering  mountains  are  low  and  rounded,  and  usually  bared  of 
forest  but  clothed  with  a luxuriant  growth  of  grasses. 

The  rocks  are  in  general  of  the  metamorphic  class,  mainly 
schist  and  gneiss,  through  which  project  many  outcrops  of  gran- 
ite. Near  the  mouth  of  the  Twisp  there  is  a considerable  area 
of  sedimentary  rocks,  consisting  for  the  most  part  of  conglom- 
erate, sandstone,  and  carbonaceous  shale.  The  latter  occurs 
quite  conspicuously  in  a few  places,  and  it  has  sometimes  been 
mistaken  for  outcrops  of  coal. 

Spokane. — This  claim  is  located  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Twisp,  about  one  and  one-half  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  ledge 
is  somewhat  irregular  and  not  very  well  defined,  but  has  an  ap- 
parent north  and  south  strike,  with  a steep  dip  to  the  westward. 
It  varies  from  a few  inches  to  three  feet  in  width.  The  mineral 
contents  of  the  vein  consists  of  sphalerite,  arsenopyrite,  chalco- 
pyrite,  and  iron  pyrite,  with  calcite  and  quartz.  The  ore  oc- 
curs usually  in  pockets  or  bunches,  occasionally  in  solid  bands. 
The  country  rock  adjacent  to  the  vein  is  strongly  mineralized, 
making  the  walls  sometimes  difficult  to  determine. 

St.  Lawrence. — The  St.  Lawrence  group  of  four  claims  is 
situated  at  the  head  of  North  creek,  a tributary  of  Twisp  river. 
There  are  two  veins  upon  which  work  has  been  done.  One  is 
seven  and  a half  feet  wide  and  the  other  thirty  feet  wide.  They 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


37 


both  strike  northeast  and  southwest  and  dip  45  degrees  to  the 
northwest.  The  ore  averages  about  $ 20  per  ton  in  gold,  silver 
and  copper.  The  development  work  consists  chiefly  of  a shaft,  a 
tunnel,  and  an  incline,  costing  all  told  about  $5,000.  ( W.  R. 

Marvin,  Spokane.) 

SQUAW  CREEK  DISTRICT, 

This  district  lies  about  Squaw  creek,  a small  stream  flowing 
from  the  westward  into  the  Methow  at  a point  about  nine  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  latter  river.  Situated  as  it  is  in  the  valley 
of  the  Methow  and  near  the  Columbia,  the  district  is  one  of  low 
altitude,  with  a surface  made  up  of  rolling  hills  and  gentle  slopes. 
Only  the  higher  parts  are  forest-covered,  the  evergreen  growth 
being  somewhat  sparse,  but  sufficient  for  ordinary  mining  op- 
erations. 

The  prevailing  country  rock  of  the  district  is  gneiss,  with 
eruptive  masses  of  the  granite  type.  The  veins  of  ore  as  a rule 
have  been  deposited  in  pronounced  fissures,  the  walls  of  which 
are  of  sufficient  prominence  to  be  readily  identified.  The  vein 
filling  is  usually  composed  of  quartz  and  calcite  as  gangue  min- 
erals, with  iron  pyrite,  chalcopyrite,  galena,  arsenopyrite,  tetra- 
hedrite  and  sphalerite.  The  principal  values  are  in  gold  and 
silver,  the  gold  occurring  both  free  and  as  a telluride.  As  a rule 
the  ore  is  not  uniformly  distributed  throughout  the  veins,  but 
occurs  in  well-defined  chutes.  The  ledges  of  the  district  in 
general  have  an  east  and  west  strike,  standing  about  perpendicu- 
lar or  dipping  a few  degrees  to  the  northward. 

Hidden  Treasure. — The  Hidden  Treasure  Mining  and  Mill 
ing  Company  has  a group  of  six  claims  on  the  east  slope  of 
Johnson  mountain,  about  one  mile  north  of  Squaw  creek,  and 
two  miles  west  of  the  Methow.  The  Hidden  Treasure  vein  has 
a strike  of  north  60  degrees  west  with  a dip  of  60  degrees  to  the 
northeast.  It  is  a true  fissure  vein  with  walls  of  gneiss.  It  is 
from  two  to  four  feet  in  width,  except  where  the  ore  chutes  occur, 
when  a width  of  eight  to  ten  feet  is  noted. 

The  ore  in  the  Hidden  Treasure  vein  consists  chiefly  of  chal- 
copyrite, galena,  sphalerite,  and  iron  pyrite,  with  quartz  and 
calcite  as  the  gangue  minerals.  The  values  are  chiefly  in  gold 
and  silver,  with  a small  amount  in  copper.  The  gold  occurs  in 


38 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


small  amounts  as  free  gold,  and  to  a small  extent  in  the  form  of 
sylvanite. 

Development  work  on  this  property  was  begun  in  1896. 
Two  tunnels  have  been  driven  on  the  Hidden  Treasure  ledge, 
an  upper  one  having  a length  of  200  feet,  and  a lower  one  with 
a length  of  260  feet.  From  the  second  tunnel  a winze  has  been 
sunk  to  a depth  of  50  feet,  and  from  the  bottom  of  the  winze 
drifts  and  crosscuts  aggregating  80  feet  in  length  have  been 
driven.  Some  ore  has  been  stoped  out  from  one  of  the  ore 
chutes,  about  290  tons  in  all.  Of  this,  90  tons  has  been 
shipped  to  a smelter,  for  which  $67  per  ton  was  received. 

Highland  Light* — This  mine,  owned  by  the  Highland  Light 
Mining  Company,  is  situated  immediately  west  of  the  Hidden 
Treasure,  and  on  the  same  ledge.  The  ledge  has  been  devel- 
oped by  a shaft  170  feet  deep,  which  cuts  through  an  ore  chute 
dipping  eastward.  The  first  50  feet  of  the  shaft  is  in  ore.  At 
the  25-foot  level  a drift  20  feet  long  was  run  and  the  ore  stoped 
out ; at  the  50-foot  level  another  drift  45  feet  long  was  made, 
and  some  of  the  ore  taken  out  from  here  assayed  $90  per  ton  in 
all  values ; at  the  ioo-foot  level  the  vein  showed  two  and  one- 
half  feet  of  good  ore,  and  a drift  was  run  20  feet  to  the  east- 
ward. At  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  drifts  were  run  in  both 
directions.  On  this  level  the  ledge  averaged  three  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and  the  ore  assayed  from  $40  to  $50  per  ton.  (John  D. 
Atkinson,  Olympia.) 

Standard  and  Louisa* — These  claims  adjoin  the  Hidden 
Treasure  group.  The  ore  vein  varies  from  three  and  a half  to 
five  feet  in  width.  It  has  an  east  and  west  strike  and  dips  to 
the  north.  The  ore  that  has  been  mined  averages  in  value  $24 
per  ton.  Only  a small  amount  of  development  work  has  been 
done  on  the  ledge.  (James  West,  president,  Seattle.) 

Henrietta* — On  the  south  side  of  Johnson  mountain  is  the 
Henrietta  group  of  four  claims.  The  vein  of  ore  varies  from 
three  to  five  feet  in-  width.  It  has  an  east  and  west  strike,  and 
dips  to  the  northward.  The  ore  assays  on  an  average  about  $25 
per  ton  in  gold,  silver  and  copper.  In  developing  the  property 
one  tunnel  of  120  feet  has  been  driven,  and  a shaft  has  been 
sunk  to  a depth  of  40  feet.  (J.  M.  Woollery,  Spokane.) 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


39 


Hunter* — This  property  has  a vein  of  ore  which  varies  from 
three  to  nine  feet  in  width.  It  has  an  east  and  west  strike,  and 
dips  to  the  northward  at  an  angle  of  88  degrees.  The  average 
assay  value  of  the  ore  is  $32  per  ton,  in  gold,  copper  and  silver. 
The  development  work  consists  of  open  cuts,  shafts,  and  tun- 
nels, representing  an  outlay  of  $8,000.  About  400  tons  of  ore 
are  now  ready  for  shipment.  (James  E.  Blackwell,  president, 
Hunter  Mining  Company). 

Tom  Hal* — This  mine,  the  name  of  which  has  recently  been 
changed  from  the  Friday  mine,  is  on  a group  of  five  claims. 
The  ledge  varies  in  width  from  four  to  ten  feet,  the  richest  ore 
having  been  encountered  in  the  narrowest  part.  The  ore 
consists  chiefly  of  iron  pyrite,  chalcopyrite,  and  arsenopyrite. 
It  is  essentially  a gold  ore,  but  carries  a little  silver  and  a small 
percentage  of  copper.  Ten  tons  of  selected  ore  when  shipped 
to  the  Everett  Smelter  yielded  $70  per  ton.  In  the  under- 
ground work  a tunnel  no  feet  in  length  was  driven,  crossing 
the  ledge  at  this  point.  A drift  of  100  feet  was  next  made,  and 
from  the  end  of  this  a winze  of  100  feet  was  sunk.  From  the 
bottom  of  the  winze  drifts  of  about  70  feet  were  run  in  both  di- 
rections. (John  D.  Atkinson,  Olympia). 

Bolmger* — This  property,  consisting  of  five  claims,  is  situ- 
ated on  the  south  fork  of  Gold  creek,  two  and  one-half  miles 
west  of  the  Methow  river.  There  are  two  parallel  ledges  on 
these  claims  two  hundred  feet  apart  and  much  alike  in  character. 
The  larger  or  main  ledge  is  four  and  a half  feet  wide  on  the  sur- 
face and  seven  feet  wide  at  the  bottom  of  a ninety  foot  shaft. 
This  is  a true  fissure  vein,  with  walls  of  gneiss.  The  vein  filling 
is  arsenopyrite,  galena,  chalcopyrite,  and  iron  pyrite,  in  a quartz 
gangue.  The  vein  has  a strike  of  N.  30  E.,  and  a dip  of  45  de- 
grees to  the  southeast.  In  the  development  work  of  the  property 
a tunnel  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  has  been  driven 
which  strikes  the  two  parallel  ledges  at  distances  of  235  feet  and 
450  feet  respectively  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  The  first 
ledge  is  tapped  at  a distance  of  105  feet  below  the  surface  and 
assays  from  five  dollars  to  fifty-four  dollars  in  gold,  and  is  eight 
feet  in  width.  The  second  or  main  ledge,  which  is  crosscut  by 
the  tunnel  at  a vertical  depth  of  225  feet,  is  ten  feet  wide  and 
carries  ore  that  averages  by  smelter  tests  twelve  dollars  per  ton. 


40  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


About  thirty  or  forty  per  cent,  of  the  values  are  in  silver  and  the 
rest  in  gold. 

Independence* — This  property  is  located  on  the  south  fork  of 
Gold  creek,  very  near  the  Bolinger  mentioned  above.  The 
ledge  varies  in  width  from  four  to  eight  feet,  and  may  be  easily 
traced  on  the  surface  for  a distance  of  800  feet.  It  is  a fissure 
vein  with  walls  of  gneiss.  The  metallic  minerals  are  iron  pyrite, 
arsenopyrite,  chalcopyrite,  and  molybdenite,  in  a quartz  gangue. 
Occasionally  the  metallic  minerals  occur  as  solid  bands  which 
often  reach  a thickness  of  eighteen  inches.  The  alteration  in 
the  vein  due  to  weathering  is  slight,  and  the  honeycombed 
quartz  of  the  surface  gives  way  to  unchanged  ore  at  a depth  of  a 
few  feet.  The  strike  of  the  vein  is  about  north  and  south,  with 
a dip  of  45  degrees  to  the  westward.  The  assays  of  the  ore  that 
have  been  made  show  values  of  from  $5  to  $10  per  ton. 


WHATCOM  COUNTY* 


Whatcom  county  lies  in  the  northern  tier  of  counties,  and  ex- 
tends trom  the  summit  of  the  Cascades  westward  to  the  Gulf  of 
Georgia.  The  western  and  eastern  parts  of  Whatcom  county 
present  marked  contrasts  in  many  ways.  The  western  one-third 
of  the  county  has  but  a slight  elevation  above  the  sea,  is  charac- 
terized by  wide  alluvial  valleys  and  low  hills,  and  is  crossed  in 
all  directions  by  railways  and  wagon  roads.  On  the  other  hand 
the  eastern  two-thirds  of  the  county  is  a region  of  high  moun- 
tains which  possess  an  extremely  rugged  character,  abounding 
in  deep  canyons  and  sharp  divides,  and  into  which  trails  and 
roads  are  built  with  difficulty. 

In  the  mountainous  part  of  Whatcom  county  many  varieties 
of  rocks  are  encountered.  Gneiss,  schist,  slate,  crystalline  lime- 
stone and  other  metamorphics  commonly  occur.  Associated 
with  these  are  masses  of  igneous  rocks  of  both  intrusive  and  ex- 
trusive origin.  In  the  western  part  of  the  mountainous  district 
stands  the  bold  cone  of  Mount  Baker  about  which  volcanic  rocks 
abound. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


41 


Although  metalliferous  deposits  have  been  found  in  many 
parts  of  the  mountainous  district  of  Whatcom  county,  the  ledges 
which  have  received  the  most  attention  are  those  which  are  lo- 
cated to  the  northward  of  Mount  Baker,  in  the  Mount  Baker 
district,  and  those  which  are  located  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Barron  m the  Slate  Creek  district.  A brief  general  description 
of  these  districts,  with  some  statements  regarding  the  chief 
mines  and  claims  within  them,  will  now  be  given. 

MOUNT  BAKER  DISTRICT. 

By  D.  A.  Lyon. 

The  Mount  Baker  mining  district  is  situated  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  north  fork  of  the  Nooksack,  on  the  western  slope 
of  the  Cascades,  and  includes  all  the  territory  which  lies  imme- 
diately north  of  Mount  Baker.  On  account  of  the  lateness  of 
the  season  at  which  our  party  reached  this  district,  in  the  early 
autumn  of  1901,  and  having  but  a limited  time  at  our  disposal, 
it  was  found  possible  to  visit  only  the  most  important  camps. 
As  a result  this  report  is  to  be  considered  as  wholly  preliminary 
in  its  nature  and  will  be  enlarged  upon  as  soon  as  more  field 
work  can  be  done. 

The  district  is  reached  by  Maple  Falls,  which  is  the  present 
terminus  of  the  Bellingham  Bay  & British  Columbia  Railroad. 
From  Maple  Falls  there  is  a good  wagon  road  to  Shuksan,  a dis- 
tance of  about  20  miles.  From  Shuksan,  the  Mount  Baker  Min- 
ing Company,  owning  the  Post-Lambert  group,  has  constructed 
a well  built  trail  to  its  properties,  and  in  doing  so  has  made  it 
easier  to  get  to  those  prospects  and  mines  lying  to  the  northwest 
of  Shuksan  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Twin  lakes.  Those  properties 
which  are  located  to  the  east  and  south  of  Shuksan  are  for  the 
most  part  tributary  to  the  state  trail. 

As  may  be  inferred,  nearly  all  of  the  prospects  and  mines  of 
the  Mount  Baker  district  are  located  in  the  high  Cascades,  the 
Post-Lambert  group,  at  an  altitude  of  about  6,000  feet,  being 
the  highest  of  any  of  the  developed  mines.  Here  the  snow 
comes  early  and  stays  late,  and  falls  to  a great  depth.  The 
water  supply  is  plentiful  all  the  year  around,  and  in  most  cases 
is  in  such  quantities  and  so  located  as  to  permit  of  its  being 
utilized  for  power.  In  many  cases  there  is  an  abundance  of 
timber  for  mining  purposes,  although  some  of  the  mines  are  lo- 


42 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


cated  at  altitudes  where  timber  is  scarce,  or  are  above  the  tim- 
ber line  altogether. 

Although  over  3,000  quartz  claims  have  been  located  in  the 
Mount  Baker  mining  district,  yet  only  a few  of  these  have  been 
developed  into  mines.  The  principal  ores  of  the  district  are 
gold  and  copper  bearing.  The  gold  is  present  as  free  gold,  and 
occurs  in  white  quartz,  or  is  present  as  a telluride,  while  in 
other  places  it  is  found  associated  with  gold  bearing  sulphides 
in  veins  of  bluish  grey  ore  which  contains  much  lime.  Again 
we  find  large  bodies  of  slate  with  kidney  quartz,  which  occur  as 
masses,  with  no  well  defined  hanging  or  foot  wall. 

Post-Lambert* — This  is  one  of  the  best  developed  properties 
in  the  district.  It  includes  a group  of  eight  claims  located  on 
the  southern  slope  of  what  is  known  as  Bear  mountain,  and  to 
the  east  and  south  of  two  small  mountain  lakes,  known  as  Twin 
lakes,  which  are  about  twenty  miles  west  and  somewhat  north 
of  Mount  Baker,  and  are  about  thirty-six  miles  southeast  of 
Chilliwack,  British  Columbia.  The  property  is  owned  by  the 
Mount  Baker  Mining  Company,  the  offices  of  which  are  in  Port- 
land, Oregon. 

In  developing  the  property  most  of  the  work  has  been  done 
on  the  Lone  Jack  ledge,  where  a tunnel  or  inclined  shaft  has 
been  driven  on  the  outcrop  and  follows  the  ledge  in  for  a dis- 
tance of  140  feet.  To  the  east  of  the  outcrop  on  a level  at  a 
vertical  distance  of  100  feet  below  the  opening  of  the  inclined 
shaft,  a crosscut  is  being  driven,  in  order  to  intersect  the  vein, 
which  will  be  done  at  a distance  of  about  475  feet.  Open  cuts 
have  also  been  made  on  the  Lone  Jack  ledge  in  several  places, 
and  all  of  these  disclose  a well  defined  vein,  and  show  the  pres- 
ence of  free  gold  and  tellurides.  The  ledge  has  a north  and 
south  strike,  wTith  walls  of  slate.  It  outcrops  for  a distance  of 
about  2,500  feet,  and  has  been  thoroughly  sampled  for  a dis- 
tance of  1,200  feet,  the  average  width  in  this  distance  being  two 
and  one-half  feet.  From  two  hundred  and  eleven  free  milling 
tests  which  were  made  on  this  ore,  the  value  in  free  gold  was 
found  to  be  on  an  average  $28,  while  numerous  fire  assays  made 
on  the  same  show  it  to  have  a value  of  $32  per  ton.  This  dif- 
ference is  due  to  the  presence  of  tellurides,  which,  being  base, 
are  not  amalgamable.  These  will  be  treated  by  some  other  pro- 
cess, preferably  by  smelting. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


43 


There  is  being  constructed  on  the  property  a ten  stamp  mill 
for  the  purpose  of  treating  the  ore  from  the  Lone  Jack  ledge.  It 
is  intended  to  carry  the  ore  from  the  mine  down  to  the  mill-site 
by  means  of  an  aerial  tramway,  the  materials  for  the  construc- 
tion of  which  are  now  on  the  ground.  The  mill-site  is  at  an  ele- 
vation of  about  2,000  feet,  while  the  mine  is  at  an  elevation  of 
about  6,000  feet.  It  is  intended  to  stamp  the  ore  and  remove  as 
much  of  the  gold  as  possible  by  amalgamation,  and  then  treat 
the  tailings  by  concentrating  them,  in  order  to  recover  the  non- 
amalgamable  tellurides. 

Great  Excelsior* — This  property  is  located  near  the  Nook- 
sack,  14  miles  from  Maple  Falls,  on  the  road  to  the  Post-Lam- 
bert properties  mentioned  above. 

The  Great  Excelsior  ledge,  the  exact  width  of  which  has  not 
been1  determined,  preserves  its  character  for  several  hundred  feet 
along  its  outcrop.  It  occurs  apparently  at  the  contact  of  slate 
and  porphyry,  the  former  being  the  hanging  wall,  and  has  a 
strike  that  is  northeast  and  southwest.  The  ledge  is  composed 
chiefly  of  quartz  and  dolomite.  Throughout  this  mass  the  me- 
tallic minerals  occur  in  a finely  disseminated  state. 

Very  little  development  work  in  the  way  of  prospecting  shafts 
and  tunnels  has  been  done  on  this  property,  as  it  was  hardly 
considered  necessary,  since  large  masses  of  ore  are  already  ex- 
posed. In  one  place  the  hanging  wall  of  slate  has  been  eroded 
by  the  creek,  leaving  the  ledge  faced  up  to  a considerable  height. 
As  to  the  value  of  the  ore  the  writer  was  informed  that  in  no 
place  on  the  ledge  had  rock  been  found,  although  they  had  tried 
to  do  so,  which  assayed  less  than  $1.50  per  ton.  The  surface 
of  the  ore  body  is  well  oxidized,  and  the  values  are  less  than 
those  which  are  obtained  by  going  in  on  the  same.  From  tun- 
nels which  penetrate  the  face  of  the  ledge  and  which  have  been 
driven  in  to  a distance  of  15  to  30  feet,  it  is  found  that  at  this 
distance  from  the  surface  the  mass  is  crossed  in  every  direction 
by  stringers  of  pyrites  and  white  quartz,  and  that  these  string- 
ers often  carry  very  high  values,  in  no  instance  assaying  below 
$200  per  ton,  and  often  going  as  high  as  $500  or  $600  per  ton. 
At  first  sight  the  ore  has  the  usual  appearance  of  a quartz  and 
sulphide  ore,  but  on  examination  it  is  found  to  contain  gold  and 
silver  which  occur  apparently  as  tellurides,  but  combining  in  a 
manner  which  is  not  yet  understood,  and  so  gives  an  uncommon 


44 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


occurrence  of  these  metals.  No  free  metals  are  found,  and  the 
gold  and  silver  values  are  about  equal ; that  is,  in  dollars  and 
cents. 

On  the  strength  of  what  seems  to  be  so  spendid  a showing, 
the  company  owning  this  property  has  during  the  past  year  de- 
voted all  its  energy  to  the  work  of  installing  the  necessary  ma- 
chinery for  the  treatment  of  the  ore.  The  method  of  getting 
out  the  ore  will  be  by  open  cuts,  it  being  proposed  to  drive  a 
tunnel  into  the  ore  body,  and  on  the  floor  of  this  tunnel  to  con- 
struct tramways.  The  ore  will  be  quarried  down  from  either 
side  of  the  open  cut,  dumped  into  tram  cars,  and  sent  directly 
to  the  mill  for  treatment. 

Nooksack* — This  property  was  located  in  1898.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  a dike  which  is  315  feet  wide,  and  it  is  said  that  the 
same  has  been  traced  for  a distance  of  several  miles.  The  ore 
is  a gold  bearing  sulphide,  and  is  of  a low  grade,  assaying  $3.50 
per  ton,  but  to  all  appearances  there  is  a large  amount  of  it. 

The  company  owning  this  property  have  developed  it  to  a 
considerable  extent  and  now  have  in  place  a four-stamp  mill  and 
other  necessary  machinery,  and  would  have  begun  active  opera- 
tions during  the  summer  of  1901,  but  were  delayed  by  the  late 
arrival  of  some  pipe  from  San  Francisco,  which  will  be  used  to 
conduct  water  to  the  mill  for  power  purposes. 

Terra  Alta* — This  property,  which  is  owned  by  the  Terra 
Alta  Mining  Company,  of  Whatcom,  is  situated  on  the  south  ex- 
tension of  the  Post-Lambert  group  of  claims  on  Bear  mountain. 
More  or  less  development  work  was  done  on  this  property  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1901.  About  100  feet  of  tunneling  was  driven 
which  opened  up  a 14-foot  vein  which  is  said  to  carry  values  in 
sulphides  to  the  amount  of  $306  per  ton,  and  another  vein  12  feet 
wide  which  bears  a close  resemblance  to  the  Lone  Jack  lead  and 
is  thought  to  be  an  extension  of  the  same.  It  is  said  to  be  re- 
markably rich  in  gold,  some  of  the  values  occuring  as  tellurides. 

Trails  have  been  built  to  the  mine,  and  cabins  erected,  and 
during  the  summer  of  1902  the  company  owning  the  property 
expect  to  install  the  necessary  machinery  for  the  proper  exploit- 
ing of  the  mine  and  for  the  treatment  of  the  ore. 

Saginaw. — The  Saginaw  claims  were  located  in  the  early  part 
of  1901,  and  during  that  summer  two  tunnels  were  driven  on  the 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


45 


property,  one  of  60  feet,  cross-cutting  a three  and  one-half-foot 
ledge,  which  is  said  to  carry  high  values,  and  another  tunnel  of 
37  feet.  A shaft  was  also  started  and  sunk  to  a depth  of  12  feet. 
On  the  surface  the  vein  outcrops  as  small  stringers  and  has  been 
traced  for  several  hundred  feet.  The  values  are  in  copper  and 
gold. 

Pierce* — The  Pierce  group  consits  of  ten  claims  which  are 
situated  on  Silica  creek  and  about  five  miles  from  the  Post-Lam- 
bert property.  These  claims  were  located  in  1889  and  in  the 
spring  of  1901  active  work  was  begun  on  their  development. 
Two  shafts  were  sunk,  one  of  40  feet  in  depth,  another  of  50,  and 
about  60  feet  of  tunneling  was  driven.  The  vein  has  an  average 
width  of  about  three  feet,  and  is  said  to  have  been  traced  for 
several  thousand  feet.  The  values  at  present  are  principally  in 
free  gold,  and  give  an  average  assay  of  about  $ 12 . The  company 
owning  these  claims  expect  to  begin  the  work  of  installing  mill 
machinery  during  the  summer  of  1902. 

Lone  Star* — These  claims  are  located  on  Swamp  creek. 
During  the  summer  of  1901  two  tunnels  were  driven  on  the 
property,  one  of  68  feet,  and  another  of  20  feet.  The  ore  body 
is  a white  quartz  vein  about  25  feet  wide,  and  parallel  with  it  is 
• a grey  quartz  vein  whose  exact  width  has  not  been  determined. 
The  gold  values  occur  as  tellurides  and  sulphides. 

SLATE  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

BY  D A LYON 

This  district  is  situated  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  What- 
com county,  in  the  territory  drained  by  Slate,  Mill  and  Boulder 
creeks.  These  streams  are  tributaries  of  Ruby  creek,  which  in 
turn  is  a tributary  of  the  Skagit  river.  The  district  is  reached  in 
two  ways,  either  by  way  of  the  Columbia  and  Methow  rivers  to 
the  headwaters  of  the  latter  and  then  over  the  summit  of  the 
Cascades,  or  else  by  following  up  the  valleys  of  the  Skagit  river 
and  Ruby  creek. 

Situated  as  it  is  in  the  very  heart  of  the  higher  Cascades, 
Slate  creek  district  possesses  a very  rugged  topography.  The 
snowfall  is  excessive  and  makes  ingress  and  egress  quite  difficult 
or  even  impossible  at  times  during  the  winter  season.  The  nu- 
merous streams  abound  in  waterfalls  and  latent  water  power 
occurs  everywhere.  The  higher  peaks  and  divides  rise  above: 


46  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


the  timber  line,  but  in  the  valleys  there  is  ample  timber  for  all 
the  demands  of  the  mining  industry. 

The  ledges  of  the  district  occur  in  two  distinct  formations. 
One  of  them  is  a black  slate,  containing  numerous  quartz  veins, 
usually  very  thin,  which  run  parallel  with  the  cleavage.  This 
formation  extends  from  the  mouth  of  Slate  creek  almost  to  its 
head-waters,  and  forms  the  Slate  creek  range.  The  cleavage  of 
the  formation  in  this  district  is  almost  north  and  south,  and  is 
parallel  to  the  stratified  sandstones,  shales  and  limestones  to  the 
east  of  this  area.  These  last  named  form  what  Professor  I.  C. 
Russell  * calls  the  Similkameen  formation,  which  embraces  an 
area  about  15  miles  east  and  west,  extending  northward  beyond 
the  international  boundary  line,  and  southward  beyond  Crater 
pass.  This  area  is  composed  mainly  of  sandstones,  shales  and 
limestones,  with  quartzite  and  minor  quantities  of  conglomerate 
and  breccia  near  the  bottom. 

In  structure  the  series  of  rocks  lies  in  closely  compressed 
folds,  having  a north  and  south  trend,  with  dips  inclined  in 
places,  while  in  others  the  beds  stand  nearly  or  quite  vertical. 
On  Gold  ridge,  which  is  to  the  north  of  Crater  pass  and  imme- 
diately east  of  the  summit,  in  Okanogan  county,  the  rocks  dip 
eastward  in  such  a manner  as  to  indicate  that  the  folds  have  been 
overturned  to  the  west.  At  this  point  the  dip  of  the  strata  east- 
ward is  at  an  angle  of  about  eight  degrees,  but  to  the  north  of 
this  the  dip  increases  and  soon  becomes  vertical.  The  under- 
lying member  of  the  Similkameen  series  is  a hard,  nearly  white 
quartzite,  changing,  as  at  the  Eureka  mine,  to  conglomerate  and 
breccia.  Above  the  quartzite  come  slates,  sandstones,  shales 
and  limestones.  At  the  base  of  Gold  ridge  is  a thick  bed  of 
bluish  sandstone.  This  has  been  penetrated  by  tunnels  which 
the  Gold  Ridge  Mining  Company  have  driven  in  the  St.  Paul 
and  Minneapolis  claims. 

In  many  places  the  Similkameen  formation  is  cut  by  dikes 
which  trend  north  and  south.  On  the  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul 
claims  one  of  the  dikes  is  exposed  at  the  entrance  to  the  tunnel 
on  these  claims.  It  is  three  to  four  feet  thick,  stands  nearly 
vertical,  and  cuts  the  sandstones  which  dip  eastward  at  an  angle 
of  about  eight  degrees.  There  are  numerous  other  dikes  of  this 
kind  in  the  district  which  have  an  approximately  vertical  posi- 


* Russell:  20th  Ann.  Rep.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Part  II,  p.  114, 1898-9. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington.  47 

tion,  are  light  in  color,  of  porphyritic  structure  and  for  the  most 
part  have  a north  and  south  trend.  In  the  region  of  Gold  hill, 
and  also  in  the  vicinity  of  Windy  pass,  at  the  head  waters  of  the 
east  fork  of  Slate  creek,  there  are  numerous  east-west  fissures 
which  cut  the  rocks  at  right  angles  to  the  longer  axes  of  the 
folds,  and  which  have  been  filled  with  quartz  containing  free 
gold.  It  is  on  these  veins  that  the  Eureka,  Mammoth,  Tacoma, 
Gold  Ridge,  and  many  other  mining  properties  are  situated. 

Eureka* — This  mine,  owned  and  operated  by  the  Eureka 
Mining  Company,  is  situated  on  the  headwaters  of  the  east  fork 
of  Slate  creek,  immediately  north  of  Barron,  about  fifteen  miles 
south  of  the  international  boundary  line,  and  about  one  mile 
west  of  the  summit  of  the  Cascade  mountains.  The  ore  is 
found  in  lenses,  or  pockets,  and  occurs  as  a conglomerate.  It 
carries  $8  to  $10  per  ton  in  gold  values,  part  of  which  is  free, 
while  part  is  associated  with  sulphides.  Streaks  are  found  con- 
taining very  rich  sylvanite  ore. 

In  order  to  reach  the  ore  body  a tunnel  240  feet  in  length 
was  driven  in  on  the  ledge,  and  from  the  end  of  this  a shaft  was 
sunk  65  feet.  The  ore  is  hoisted  up  through  this  shaft,  taken 
out  through  the  tunnel,  and  then  sent  down  to  the  mill  by  means 
of  a gravity  tramway.  In  the  treatment  of  the  ore  it  is  fed  into 
a ten-stamp  mill  where  it  is  crushed  to  pass  a 40  mesh  screen. 
The  stamps  have  a drop  of  seven  inches,  and  fall  at  the  rate  of 
104  drops  per  minute.  The  product  of  the  stamps  is  then  passed 
over  amalgamated  plates,  and  is  concentrated  by  means  of  two 
Wilfley  tables.  From  the  Wilfley  tables  the  tailings  pass  over 
canvas  slime  tables  for  the  purpose  of  removing  any  valuable 
particles  which  may  have  escaped  the  concentrators.  However, 
it  is  not  possible  to  save  all  of  the  values,  as  about  $1.60  per 
ton  is  lost  in  the  tailings. 

Mammoth. — The  Mammoth  mine  is  located  at  Barron,  near 
the  headwaters  of  the  east  fork  of  Slate  creek,  one-half  mile 
west  of  the  summit  of  the  Cascades.  The  vein  upon  which  the 
Mammoth  is  located  is  from  two  to  four  feet  in  width  with  a 
northward  dip  of  60  degrees,  and  a strike  about  east  and  west. 
The  gold  is  found  in  a white  quartz,  and  is  partly  free  and  partly 
in  combination  with  sulphur  and  tellurium.  The  average  assay 
value  in  gold  is  about  $20  per  ton.  The  mine  has  produced  to 
date  gold  to  the  value  of  $25,000. 


48 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


The  ore  body  was  opened  up  by  driving  a tunnel  in  on  the 
vein,  crosscutting  the  same,  and  then  following  the  vein.  Only 
one  level  has  been  driven,  and  this  for  a distance  of  about  1,800 
feet.  Air-driven  drills  are  now  used  in  taking  out  the  ore.  After 
the  ore  is  taken  from  the  mine  it  is  sent  to  the  mill  by  means  of 
an  aerial  tramway,  as  the  mill  is  quite  a little  lower  than  the  mine. 
The  former  process  used  in  treating  the  ore  is  that  of  crushing 
and  then  stamping  in  a five-stamp  mill.  The  product  of  the 
stamp  battery  was  then  passed  over  amalgamated  plates  whereby 
the  free  gold  was  extracted  by  amalgamation,  and  the  tailings 
were  then  concentrated  for  the  non-amalgamable  values.  As  a 
large  amount  of  values  were  lost  by  this  method  of  treatment, 
the  mill  and  mine  were  closed  during  the  summer  of  1901,  and 
arrangements  were  made  for  the  installation  of  new  mill  machin- 
ery, the  contract  for  which  has  been  let  and  the  same  will  be  put 
in  place  during  the  summer  of  1902. 

So  far  the  owners  of  the  property  have  spent  about  $50,000 
in  developing  the  same.  With  better  facilities  for  treating  the 
ore,  and  with  a mill  that  will  save  a reasonable  percentage  of  the 
values,  it  may  confidently  be  expected  that  the  Mammoth  will 
become  a paying  mine. 

Tacoma* — This  property,  owned  by  the  Gold  Standard  Min- 
ing Company,  has  approximately  the  same  location  as  the  Mam- 
moth, being  a little  to  the  west  and  north  of  the  latter.  The 
strike  of  the  vein  which  is  being  worked  is  almost  east  and  west, 
and  dips  about  60  degrees  to  the  north.  As  far  as  it  has  been 
exposed  it  has  an  average  width  of  about  two  feet.  About  100 
feet  to  the  north  is  another  ledge  which  is  parallel  to  the  one 
which  is  being  developed.  The  character  of  the  ore  is  much 
the  same  as  at  the  Mammoth,  the  values  occuring  in  white 
quartz  both  as  free  gold  and  as  tellurides. 

Gold  Ridge* — The  claims  of  the  Gold  Ridge  Mining  Com- 
pany are  located  practically  on  the  summit  of  the  Cascades,  but 
mainly  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Methow  river,  about  ten  miles 
south  of  the  international  boundary  line.  Part  of  the  claims  lie 
in  Whatcom  countv  and  part  in  Okanogan  county.  They  were 
discovered  in  1893,  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  Eureka 
and  the  Mammoth,  but  work  was  not  begun  on  them  until  1897. 
On  the  property  there  are  two  distinct  sets  of  parallel  ledges. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


49 


One  set  of  four  has  a north  and  south  strike,  which  is  parallel 
with  the  mountain,  while  the  second  set  of  three  veins  has  an 
east  and  west  strike  with  a northward  dip.  The  average  assay 
value  of  the  ore  is  about  $10  per  ton,  a part  of  which  occurs  as 
free  gold  and  the  remainder  in  combination.  It  resembles  in 
general  the  other  ores  of  the  district.  So  far  only  prospecting 
work  has  been  done  on  the  claims.  This  consists  of  830  feet  of 
tunnels,  shafts,  raises,  the  estimated  cost  of  which  has  been 
about  $20,000. 

Ninety-Nine* — This  property,  owned  principally  by  Charles 
H.  Ballard,  of  Barron,  consists  of  n claims,  located  on  Crater 
mountain.  The  ledge  on  which  the  group  is  located  is  about 
four  feet  in  width,  with  a pay  streak  of  about  two  feet.  The  ore 
has  yielded  some  very  high  assays,  the  values  being  in  free  gold 
and  tellurides.  The  ledge  occurs  between  walls  of  slate  and 
quartzite,  and  is  well  defined.  So  far  only  prospecting  work  has 
been  done  on  the  property,  a cross-cut  tunnel  having  first  been 
driven  to  the  ledge,  a distance  of  240  feet,  and  then  drifts  were 
made. 

Anacortes* — This  property  consists  of  seven  claims  situated  on 
the  Cascade  branch  of  West  Canyon  creek.  Four  of  the  claims 
are  located  upon  one  vein  and  three  upon  a parallel  vein.  So  far 
only  development  work  has  been  done  upon  the  property,  and 
this  chiefly  upon  the  Anacortes  and  Tip  Top  claims.  At  the 
time  this  group  was  visited  by  the  writer,  drifts  had  been  run  on 
three  different  levels.  The  lower  tunnel  was  in  a distance  of 
310  feet.  One  hundred  feet  above  this  another  had  been  run 
100  feet,  and  about  twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  middle  drift, 
another  drift  had  been  started  and  was  in  90  feet.  The  ore 
bod)?-  shows  up  well  in  all  of  these  drifts  and  the  walls  are  quite 
sharply  defined. 

The  principal  ledge  in  the  group  is  one  of  quartz  carrying  free 
gold,  tellurides  and  sulphides.  Its  outcrops  can  be  followed  for 
a long  distance,  and  can  be  seen  on  both  sides  of  the  mountain 
through  which  it  cuts.  Its  average  width  is  2 feet,  and  the  widest 
part  uncovered  is  13  feet.  Its  strike  is  about  10  degrees  west  of 
north  and  it  has  a dip  of  70  degrees  to  the  southwest.  Its  hang- 
ing and  foot  walls  are  both  of  slate,  but  in  the  upper  tunnel  about 
14  inches  of  conglomerate  occurs  in  the  vein  on  the  hanging  wall 


4 — II 


50  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 

side.  The  assay  value  of  the  ore  ranges  from  $8  to  $300  per  ton, 
and  some  very  high  assays  have  been  received  on  picked  speci- 
mens. 

North  American. — The  North  American  Mining  and  Milling 
company  owns  a group  of  nine  claims,  situated  between  Boulder 
and  Mill  creeks,  at  an  elevation  of  about  4,300  feet.  These 
claims  are  located  on  lodes  which  show  up  remarkably  well  at 
the  surface,  and  wherever  drifted  upon  have  given  high  values 
upon  assaying.  The  values  occur  in  a white  quartz  which  is 
more  or  less  oxidized  at  the  surface,  and  it  is  presumed  that  the 
ore  will  become  base  at  a depth.  The  strike  of  these  veins  is 
nearly  east  and  west.  At  the  time  this  property  was  visited  by 
the  writer,  the  development  work  which  had  been  done  consisted 
of  three  tunnels  and  five  drifts.  One  of  these  tunnels  was  100 
feet  in  length,  another  40  feet,  and  another  35  feet.  One  of 
them  was  being  driven  in  a clayey  formation  which,  when  panned, 
showed  the  presence  of  an  appreciable  amount  of  free  gold. 

Monto  Cristo. — This  property  consists  of  two  claims  on 
Canyon  mountain,  to  the  north  of  Canyon  creek.  The  claims 
are  located  on  two  north  and  south  ledges  each  of  which  has  a 
width  of  about  seven  a half  feet,  and  which  yield  an  average 
assay  of  about  $6. 


SKAGIT  COUNTY. 


Skagit  county  lies  between  the  counties  of  Whatcom  on  the 
north  and  Snohomish  on  the  south,  and  extends  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Cascades  westward  to  tidewater.  As  was  the  case 
with  Whatcom  county,  the  very  mountainous  character  of  the 
eastern  part  of  Skagit  county  is  in  great  contrast  in  every  way 
with  the  alluvial  plain  of  the  western  part.  The  low  plain  of 
the  coast,  however,  is  continued  eastward  in  the  wide  alluvial 
valley  of  the  Skagit,  which  extends  to  within  a few  miles  of  the 
extreme  eastern  limits  of  the  county. 

The  mountainous  area  of  Skagit  county  is  largely  one  of 
metamorphic  rocks,  chiefly  schist,  gneiss,  and  crystalline  lime- 
stone. Granite  occurs,  as  well  as  many  varieties  of  younger  ex- 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


51 


trusive  and  intrusive  rocks.  Prospecting  for  metallic  minerals 
has  been  done  over  large  portions  of  the  mountainous  section  of 
the  county  and  many  ledges  have  been  found.  Data  is  at  hand 
for  reports  upon  but  two  districts  of  the  county,  Thunder  creek 
and  Bald  mountain,  and  some  brief  statements  about  these  will 
now  be  given. 

THUNDER  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

By  D.  A.  Lyon. 

This  district  is  situated  in  the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of 
the  county,  adjacent  to  the  summit  of  the  mountains,  and  very 
near  the  Whatcom  county  line.  It  lies  within  and  immediately 
about  the  basin  of  Thunder  creek,  a tributary  of  the  Skagit 
which  enters  that  river  about  twenty-five  miles  above  Marble- 
mount. 

Ledges  of  ore  were  discovered  in  this  district  a number  of 
years  ago,  but  it  is  only  recently  that  active  development  work 
has  been  undertaken.  The  country  rock  of  the  district  is  chiefly 
granite,  with  dykes  of  porphyry.  The  altitude  is  so  great  that 
the  rocks  are  generally  bare  of  vegetation  and  soil,  so  that  veins 
of  ore  may  be  readily  seen  and  traced. 

'Willis  and  Everett, — This  property,  consisting  of  nine  claims, 
is  owned  by  the  Baker  Mount  Mining  Company,  of  Seattle.  It 
is  located  in  Silver  basin,  on  the  south  fork  of  Thunder  creek. 
There  are  on  the  property  three  well  defined  veins,  two  of  which 
are  parallel  and  have  a northwest  and  southeast  strike.  The 
third  vein  has  a north  and  south  course,  and  cuts  the  other  two. 

The  values  of  the  upper  ledge,  which  is  from  eight  to  twelve 
feet  thick,  run  very  high.  It  is  not  unusual  for  an  assay  to  yield 
$200  in  silver  and  $9  in  gold  per  ton.  Picked  samples  have  run 
as  high  as  3,600  ounces  of  silver  per  ton. 

The  lower  ledge,  four  to  ten  feet  in  thickness,  runs  very  high 
in  silver,  together  with  some  gold.  On  this  vein  there  is  an 
open  cut  of  50  feet  on  the  ore  body.  The  foot  wall  is  granite; 
the  hanging  wall  porphyry.  Below  these  veins  are  other  ledges 
on  which  some  work  has  been  done. 

Lakeside, — This  property  is  located  on  the  south  side  of  Sil- 
ver basin,  on  the  south  fork  of  Thunder  creek.  The  ledge  is 
about  three  and  one-half  feet  wide,  with  both  its  hanging  and 
foot  walls  of  granite.  Its  strike  is  north  50  degrees  east,  with  a 


52 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


vertical  dip.  The  average  assay  value  per  ton  is  about  $36  in 
gold  and  about  $ 20  in  silver. 

Great  Northern* — This  property  is  located  immediately  ad- 
joining the  Lakeside,  described  above.  The  ledge  is  26  feet 
wide,  with  a strike  of  north  50  degrees  east,  and  with  a vertical 
dip.  The  vein  carries  gold,  silver  and  zinc. 

As  these  properties  are  all  quite  close  to  one  another,  it  is 
proposed  in  the  near  future  to  build  a concentrator,  which  will 
be  so  located  that  it  can  treat  the  ore  from  all  the  mines  of  the 
basin. 

BALD  MOUNTAIN  DISTRICT* 

Bald  Mountain* — This  mine  is  located  fifteen  miles  southeast 
of  Sedro-Woolley,  near  the  summit  of  Bald  mountain.  It  is 
easily  reached  by  wagon  road  and  trail  from  Clear  Lake.  The 
country  rock  is  schist  and  slate,  with  a large  dyke  of  diorite  cut- 
ting these  formations.  The  slate  is  massive  and  contains  bands 
and  irregular  masses  of  lime-soda  feldspar  scattered  through  it. 
The  mine  itself  is  located  in  section  17,  township  34,  range  6 
east,  on  both  sides  of  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  There  are  a 
number  of  veins  all  badly  weathered  at  their  outcrops.  The 
strike  of  the  main  ledge  is  north  twenty  degrees  east,  and  the 
dip  is  southeast  fifty  degrees.  The  hanging  wall  is  schist,  the 
foot  wall  has  not  yet  been  found.  The  ledge  is  supposed  to  be 
about  sixteen  feet  wide.  One  assay  of  the  ore  gave  thirty  per 
cent,  copper  and  three  dollars  in  gold.  The  development  work 
that  has  been  done  consists  of  two  shafts,  one  60  feet  and  the 
other  50  feet  in  depth,  with  a crosscut  tunnel  of  420  feet  in 
length.  The  property  belongs  to  the  Bald  Mountain  Mining 
Company,  of  Clear  Lake. 


CHELAN  COUNTY* 


Chelan  county  lies  between  the  Columbia  river  on  the  east 
and  the  summit  of  the  Cascades  on  the  west,  with  Okanogan  and 
Kittitas  counties  as  its  northern  and  southern  boundaries,  re- 
spectively. The  surface  of  the  county  has  a normal  slope  from 
the  Cascade  summit,  with  an  approximate  elevation  of  7,500 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


53 


feet,  southeastward  to  the  Columbia  river,  where  the  elevation 
above  sea  is  from  600  to  700  feet  only. 

Chelan  county  is  naturally  divided  into  three  drainage  basins, 
those  of  the  Wenatche,  Entiat,  and  Chelan  rivers,  the  first  and 
last  heading  in  the  main  divide  of  the  Cascade  range,  and  all 
flowing  southeastward  to  the  Columbia.  Chelan  river  is  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Chelan,  a very  beautiful  body  of  water  occupying 
a great  cleft  in  the  granite  mountains.  The  deep  depression 
occupied  by  the  lake  extends  northwestward  beyond  its  head 
and  is  there  known  as  the  valley  of  the  Stehekin  river. 

Chelan  county  is  for  the  most  part  a region  of  ancient  schists 
and  gneisses,  with  large  areas  of  granite.  Intrusive  rocks,  in 
the  form  of  dikes  of  andesite,  diorite-porphyry,  and  acid  quartz- 
ite-porphyries are  of  common  occurrence.  The  basalt  of  the 
Columbia  plain  extends  a little  way  into  the  southeastern  corner 
of  the  county.  Between  Leavenworth  and  Mission,  and  extend- 
ing northward  and  southward  for  several  miles,  is  found  a mass- 
ive sandstone  of  Tertiary  age,  which  represents  an  extension  of 
the  Swauk  sandstone. 

HORSESHOE  BASIN  DISTRICT. 

Horseshoe  basin  is  situated  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Stehekin 
river,  very  near  the  summit  of  Cascade  pass.  It  is  reached  by 
a short  trail  leading  off  from  the  main  trans-mountain  trail,  the 
latter  leading  up  the  Stehekin,  over  Cascade  pass,  and  down 
the  Skagit  by  way  of  Marblemount.  This  so-called  basin  is  a 
great  natural  amphitheatre  carved  out  by  glacial  action.  It  has 
an  elevation  of  about  6,000  feet,  and  contains  so  much  ice  and 
snow  that  mining  operations  are  mainly  confined  to  the  summer 
months.  The  mountain  peaks  which  surround  the  basin  are 
nearly  destitute  of  timber,  but  in  the  valleys  there  is  an  abund- 
ance of  hemlock,  cedar,  fir  and  pine,  sufficient  for  all  mining 
purposes.  The  streams  furnish  an  abundance  of  water  power, 
which  can  be  harnessed  very  easily  and  made  to  do  all  the  hoist- 
ing and  lighting  around  the  mines. 

Gneiss  and  schist,  with  intrusions  of  granite  and  diorite,  con- 
stitute the  chief  rock  formations  in  the  Horseshoe  basin  region. 
The  ledges  of  ore  are  of  unusual  size,  and  are  composed  essen- 
tially of  galena  and  chalcopyrite  carrying  gold  and  silver. 

Black  'Warrior. — This  claim  lies  between  Horseshoe  basin 
and  Doubtful  lake.  It  is  on  a well  defined  east  and  west  ledge, 


54 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


varying  in  width  from  20  to  30  feet,  with  a pay  streak  from  two 
to  eight  feet  wide.  The  vein  contents  are  galena  and  chalco- 
pyrite,  with  good  silver  values. 

Davenport* — This  claim  is  on  a ledge  parallel  to  the  Black 
Warrior,  and  between  the  latter  and  the  head  of  Horseshoe  basin. 
The  ledge  in  some  parts  attains  a width  of  forty  feet,  and  stands 
about  perpendicular.  Development  work  on  the  property  is 
much  hindered  by  the  great  quantities  of  snow  and  ice  which 
covers  the  ground  throughout  the  year.  The  mineral  contents 
of  the  ledge  are  chiefly  galena  and  chalcopyrite.  A ton  of  the 
ore  shipped  to  a smelter  gave  a return  of  $69  in  lead,  copper, 
silver  and  gold. 

Texas  Jack* — This  claim,  now  owned  by  the  Chelan  Copper 
Company,  is  located  in  the  upper  Horseshoe  basin.  The  width 
of  the  vein  between  walls  equals  30  feet  in  places,  with  a pay 
streak  of  about  20  inches.  The  vein  has  a northeast  and  south- 
west strike,  with  a dip  of  750  to  the  northwest.  The  principal 
values  are  in  copper  and  silver. 

BRIDGE  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

Bridge  creek  comes  into  the  Stehekin  river  from  the  north 
about  fifteen  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  latter  stream.  This 
creek  drains  a large  area  of  granite,  gneiss  and  schist,  in  which 
ledges  of  ore  occur.  In  the  district  many  claims  have  been 
staked,  but  upon  none  of  them  has  development  work  assumed 
large  proportions. 

Butte* — This  property,  owned  by  the  Butte  Gold,  Silver  and 
Copper  Mining  Company  of  Spokane,  is  located  on  Bridge  creek 
about  twenty-five  miles  from  the  head  of  Lake  Chelan.  In  the 
development  of  the  property  it  has  been  necessary  to  build  a 
good  many  miles  of  roads  and  trails.  There  are  two  veins  upon 
the  property  and  a tunnel  has  been  driven  upon  each  vein,  one 
tunnel  being  at  the  present  time  56  feet  long  and  the  other  42 
feet  in  length.  One  vein  which  was  stripped  for  36  feet  shows 
a width  of  8 feet  between  walls. 

RAILROAD  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

Railroad  creek  heads  among  the  high  mountains  constituting 
the  summit  of  the  Cascades,  and  flows  eastward  into  Lake 
Chelan  at  a point  about  twelve  miles  from  the  upper  end  of  the 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington, 


55 


lake.  It  is  well  fed  by  snows  and  glaciers,  and  as  it  makes  a 
descent  of  over  4,000  feet  in  20  miles  it  affords  an  abundant 
water  power.  The  valley  sides  are  covered  with  a goodly  forest 
growth  until  the  timber  line  is  reached  well  toward  the  head  of 
the  stream.  Throughout  its  course  Railroad  creek  flows  in 
granite,  in  which  at  several  places  veins  of  ore  have  been  dis- 
covered. The  two  most  prominent  ledges  that  have  been  found 
are  known  as  the  Crown  Point  and  the  Holden. 

Crown  Point. — The  Crown  Point  property  is  located  near 
the  head  of  Railroad  creek  about  seventeen  miles  from  Lake 
Chelan.  The  vein  appears  at  the  surface  on  the  face  of  a bold 
granite  cliff  and  is  reached  with  some  difficulty.  It  lies  almost 
flat,  dipping  to  the  westward  at  an  angle  of  five  or  six  degrees. 
It  has  a width  of  from  two  to  three  feet  and  is  composed  chiefly 
of  solid  quartz  with  small  quantities  of  molybdenite  dissemi- 
nated throughout  the  gangue.  As  a rule  the  molybdenite  occurs 
in  well  formed  crystals  having  the  form  of  hexagonal  pyramids 
and  with  diameters  reaching  an  inch  or  more  in  length.  Some 
times  the  molybdenite  occurs  in  irregular  masses  having  diame- 
ters of  three  or  four  inches.  At  the  end  of  the  short  tunnel 
which  has  been  driven  on  the  vein  chalcopyrite  has  made  its  ap- 
pearance, and  occasionally  shows  itself  in  conspicuous  masses. 

Holden* — On  Railroad  creek  about  eleven  miles  up  the  val- 
ley from  Lake  Chelan  is  the  Holden  group  of  three  claims.  The 
ledge  outcrops  upon  a rather  steep  mountain  side  where  the  ore 
body  has  been  laid  bare  by  the  snow  slides  which  have  swept 
down  the  mountain,  carrying  along  with  them  all  of  the  loose 
surface  materials.  The  ledge  shows  very  distinctly  along  the 
outcrop  for  a distance  of  several  hundred  feet.  It  is  in  the  na- 
ture of  a replacement  vein  where  the  granite  which  constitutes 
the  country  rock  has  been  impregnated  and  largely  replaced  by 
chalcopyrite  and  iron  pyrite.  In  the  joints  of  the  granite  solid 
bands  of  ore  occur.  Between  the  joint  planes  the  more  soluble 
constituents  of  the  granite  have  been  removed  and  the  metallic 
minerals  above  mentioned  have  taken  their  places.  The  vein 
has,  therefore,  no  proper  walls  and  the  zone  of  replacement  is 
somewhat  illy  defined,  passing  gradually  from  the  rock  contain- 
ing a large  percentage  of  ore  to  the  rock  which  contains  none  at 
all.  At  one  place  a measurement  made  at  right  angles  to  the 


56  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 

strike  and  across  the  zone  of  replacement  showed  the  latter  to 
be  200  feet,  at  other  places  it  is  of  course  much  narrower.  The 
ore  values  are  in  gold,  silver  and  copper.  At  the  present  time 
the  extent  of  underground  development  is  about  300  feet. 

PESHASTIN  DISTRICT, 

By  A.  E.  Knapp. 

The  Peshastin  Mining  District  is  in  the  southern  end  of 
Chelan  county  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Cascades.  It  lies  be- 
tween the  ridges  that  define  the  water  shed  of  Peshastin  creek 
from  Ingall  creek  on  the  north,  to  the  summit  on  the  south. 
Shaser,  Scott,  Ruby  and  Peshastin  creeks  afford  abundant  water 
power.  Their  channels  are  primarily  the  result  of  glacial  action, 
the  subsequent  erosion  having  done  little  more  than  to  concen- 
trate the  glacial  debris  and  leave  some  good  placer  in  the  main 
creeks.  The  hills  are  generally  well  covered  with  fine  timber, 
some  of  it  excellent  for  lumber. 

The  geology  of  the  district  has  been  carefully  studied  by 
members  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  and  briefly  stated  is  as 
follows : The  district  is  composed  of  intrusive  serpentine, 

bounded  on  the  north  and  south  by  slate.  Dikes  of  more  recent 
volcanic  rocks  are  numerous.  Most  of  the  veins  run  nearly  east 
and  west  with  the  formation,  and  are  generally  found  in  the  ser- 
pentine. The  ores  are  free  milling  and  concentrating.  Some  of 
the  slips  or  ledges  where  the  veins  intersect  have  all  the  charac- 
teristics of  regular  pocket  veins,  and  gold  is  found  at  the  point 
of  intersection.  Other  veins  carry  their  enriched  portion  along 
lines  of  crushing.  None  of  the  veins  are  regular  in  width 
throughout  their  course,  except  where  they  occur  along  lines  of 
crushing.  It  is  probable  that  the  gold  was  first  deposited  in  the 
veins  with  the  sulphides  but  was  afterwards  changed  through  a 
process  of  leaching  into  free  gold.  The  gouge  along  the  vein 
walls  is  usually  talc,  very  seldom  clay,  and  considerable  gold  is 
sometimes  found  in  the  talc,  having  been  carried  there  in  solu- 
tion. Many  of  the  miners  have  had  the  erroneous  idea  that  all 
the  green  talc  must  necessarily  carry  gold.  Along  the  line  of 
enrichment  it  does,  but  not  throughout  the  entire  vein.  The 
ores  are  of  a good  grade,  many  of  them  over  ten  dollars  per  ton 
and  going  as  high  as  one  thousand  dollars  per  ton. 

Most  of  the  development  work  has  been  done  at  Blewett, 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington 


57 


where  the  Chelan  Mining  Company  has  a twenty  stamp  mill  on 
the  banks  of  Peshastin  creek.  The  history  of  this  camp  is  sim- 
ilar to  that  of  many  which  dot  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Cascade 
and  Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  and  in  a few  words  is  a history 
of  mining  instead  of  mines.  The  first  discoveries  in  the  district 
were  placer.  The  rich  oxidized  ores  exposed  over  the  surface 
of  the  hills  above  the  creeks  were  worked  in  arrastras,  and  the 
mines  gophered.  No  attempt  was  made  to  work  the  mines  un- 
derground until  1874. 

The  principal  work  has  been  done  in  the  ledges  on  the  prop- 
erties of  the  Chelan,  Eleanor,  and  Peshastin  Mining  Companies. 
The  total  estimated  output  of  the  camp  is  $1,500,000  and  these 
ledges  contributed  a considerable  portion  of  this. 

The  lack  of  correct  knowledge  or  experience  in  the  character 
of  the  formation  has  resulted  in  the  sinking  of  a hundred  or 
more  holes  and  cuts  where  ores  have  been  extracted,  and  no  fur- 
ther effort  made  to  follow  the  line  of  enrichment.  The  amount 
of  good  ore  that  the  surface  has  furnished  has  seldom  been 
equalled  by  any  camp  along  the  range.  Mining  operations  are 
not  expensive,  for  shafts  and  tunnels  can  be  driven  for  about 
five  dollars  per  foot  with  hand  labor.  No  trouble  from  water  is 
experienced  in  sinking  shafts.  Few  camps  have  so  little  con- 
troversy over  boundaries  as  Peshastin  mining  district.  The 
original  corners  are  well  understood  and  respected. 

Eureka* — This  mine  is  on  Peshastin  creek,  about  a quarter 
of  a mile  south  of  Blewett.  The  vein  of  ore  varies  from  twelve 
to  eighteen  inches  in  width,  has  a strike  east  and  west,  and  a 
dip  to  the  south.  The  mine  belongs  to  the  Phoenix  Mining  and 
Milling  Company,  but  all  the  work  has  been  done  by  leasers, 
who  have  kept  no  records  of  the  amount  shipped,  so  that  it  is 
not  possible  at  this  time  to  state  how  much  ore  has  been  ex- 
tracted, or  form  any  estimate  of  its  total  value.  Much  of  the 
ore  assays  in  gold  as  high  as  thirty  dollars  to  the  ton.  The 
property  was  first  opened  up  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  years 
ago,  and  up  to  the  present  time  about  $3,500  has  been  expended 
in  development  work,  represented  by  about  600  feet  of  under- 
ground workings. 

Tip  Top* — The  eastern  extension  of  the  Eureka  mine  is 
known  as  the  Tip  Top,  and  was  opened  up  about  the  same  time. 


58 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


A large  amount  of  ore  was  taken  out  in  early  days,  estimated 
in  value  at  about  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  vein  here  is  about 
two  and  a half  feet  thick  and  dips  northward,  with  an  east  and 
west  strike.  About  five  hundred  or  six  hundred  feet  of  tunne 
has  been  driven,  involving  an  outlay  of  about  $4,000.  The  ore 
that  is  mined  averages  about  twenty-five  dollars  to  the  ton  in 
gold,  and  is  treated  by  means  of  an  arrastra,  which  is  supplied 
with  water  by  a ditch  five  hundred  feet  long. 

Lucky  Queen. — This  mine  is  on  the  east  side  of  Peshastin 
creek  about  a quarter  of  a mile  north  of  Blewett,  and  was  first 
opened  up  in  1894.  There  is  one  principal  vein  with  a number  of 
intersecting  veins,  and  all  stand  nearly  perpendicular.  The  ore 
is  very  pockety.  About  twenty  tons  have  been  sold  to  date,  hav- 
ing a total  value  of  about  one  thousand  dollars.  Two  tunnels 
having  a combined  length  of  seven  hundred  feet,  have  been 
driven  at  an  expense  of  about  $3,500. 

Culver. — The  Chelan  Mining  and  Milling  Company  has  a 
group  of  five  claims  extending  along  Thompson  gulch,  from  a 
point  two  thousand  feet  west  of  Blewett,  and  adjoining  the  Pe- 
shastin mine.  This  is  an  old  property,  having  been  first  opened 
up  in  1882,  and  since  that  time  about  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars  worth  of  ore  has  been  taken  out.  The  vein  varies  in 
width  from  four  to  fifteen  feet.  It  strikes  east  and  west  and  dips 
to  the  southward.  All  the  values  are  in  gold,  and  the  ore  assays 
from  five  dollars  to  five  hundred  dollars  per  ton.  There  has 
been  about  four  thousand  feet  of  underground  development  work 
done,  including  tunnels,  stopes,  etc.  The  company  has  erected 
a twenty-stamp  mill,  and  an  aerial  tram  for  handling  and  treat- 
ing the  ores.  Steam  power  is  employed.  The  total  amount  ex- 
pended in  all  kinds  of  development  work  is  estimated  at  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

Peshastin. — The  Peshastin  mine  is  in  the  town  of  Blewett. 
It  is  one  of  the  oldest  properties  in  the  camp,  having  been  first 
opened  in  1874.  The  vein  is  from  four  to  twenty  feet  wide,  and 
like  all  other  veins  in  the  camp,  has  an  east  and  west  strike.  It 
dips  to  the  southward.  Fifteen  hundred  feet  of  underground 
work  has  been  done,  representing  an  outlay  of  about  eight  thou- 
sand dollars.  Four  thousand  tons  of  ore  have  been  mined,  hav 
ing  an  average  gold  value  of  $15  per  ton. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington . 


59 


Olden. — The  property  belonging  to  Mr.  John  Olden,  is  lo- 
cated west  of  the  Black  Jack  mine,  and  immediately  south  of  the 
Peshastin.  It  is  an  old  property,  having  been  opened  up  about 
twenty-one  years  ago.  There  are  two  veins  varying  in  width 
from  one  to  six  feet,  dipping  north,  and  with  an  east  and  west 
strike.  All  the  values  are  in  gold.  Three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  of  underground  development  has  been  done.  Up  to  the 
present  time  the  total  output  is  five  hundred  tons  of  ore,  having 
a value  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars.  The  ore  is  treated  in  an 
arrastra  operated  by  water  power.  The  estimated  cost  of  all 
development  work  done  is  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 

Pole  Pick. — This  mine  is  on  the  north  slope  of  Thompson 
gulch  about  half  a mile  west  of  Blewett.  It  was  opened  up  in 
1884  and  since  that  time  has  produced  eight  thousand  tons  of 
ore,  having  a total  value  of  about  sixty-four  thousand  dollars. 
There  are  three  veins  varying  from  one  to  four  feet  in  width. 
The  strike  is  east  and  west  and  the  dip  is  to  the  northward. 
The  values  are  in  gold  and  silver,  with  a little  lead.  There  are 
about  two  thousand  feet  of  underground  work,  representing  an 
expenditure  of  twelve  thousand  dollars. 

Golden  Eagle. — This  property  includes  three  locations  on  the 
west  side  of  Peshastin  creek  just  north  of  Blewett.  There  are 
two  veins  on  the  property,  each  having  a width  of  about  three 
feet.  The  strike  is  east  and  west  and  the  dip  north.  Like  most 
of  the  other  mines  in  the  district  the  ore  is  very  pockety,  rang- 
ing in  value  from  fourteen  dollars  to  sixty  dollars  per  ton.  The 
owners  have  expended  about  seven  hundred  dollars  in  develop- 
ment work,  and  now  have  a tunnel  two  hundred  feet  in  length. 
They  have  about  one  hundred  tons  of  ore  on  the  dump.  All  the 
values  are  in  gold. 

Ivanhoe. — The  Ivanhoe  mine  lies  north  of  the  Culver  at  the 
head  of  Thompson  gulch,  about  half  a mile  west  of  Blewett.  It 
is  an  old  mine,  having  been  first  opened  up  eighteen  or  nineteen 
years  ago,  but  has  never  been  worked  very  extensively.  About 
five  hundred  feet  of  underground  work  has  been  done,  and 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  have  been  spent  in  development 
work.  The  vein  is  six  feet  wide  and  carries  gold  and  silver  with 
an  average  assay  value  of  four  dollars  and  a half  per  ton.  The 
vein  is  perpendicular  and  has  an  east  and  west  strike. 


60 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Black  Jack. — This  mine  is  on  Peshastin  creek  above  Blewett. 
It  was  opened  up  about  the  same  time  as  the  Eureka,  or  about 
1880.  Nine  hundred  feet  of  tunnel  have  been  driven  on  the 
property  at  an  estimated  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars.  Three 
thousand  tons  of  ore  have  been  taken  out  with  an  average  gold 
value  of  ten  dollars  per  ton.  The  vein  is  from  two  to  four  feet 
wide,  and  has  an  east  and  west  strike,  dipping  to  the  southward. 


SNOHOMISH  COUNTY. 


Snohomish  county  lies  between  the  counties  of  Skagit  and 
King  on  the  north  and  south  respectively,  and  extends  from  the 
summit  of  the  Cascades  westward  to  Puget  Sound.  Like  the 
counties  to  the  northward  and  southward  of  it,  Snohomish  has 
a low  alluvial  plain  along  the  coast,  which  gives  way  in  turn  to 
low  hills,  foot-hills  of  the  mountains,  and  finally  to  very  high 
mountains  as  one  travels  eastward. 

The  eastern  part  of  Snohomish  county,  embracing  about  two- 
thirds  of  its  area,  may  be  regarded  as  mineral  bearing.  The 
rocks  found  here  are  of  the  varieties  typical  of  the  northern  Cas- 
cades, viz. : granite,  diorite,  slate,  gneiss,  schist,  crystalline 
limestone,  etc.  At  several  points  valuable  veins  of  ore  have  been 
discovered,  notably  about  Darrington,  Silverton,  Monte  Cristo, 
and  Index.  The  ores  found  in  these  districts  are  practically  all 
of  the  sulphide  type,  making  treatment  by  smelter  methods  a 
necessity.  An  easy  method  of  transportation  from  the  mines  to 
the  smelter  is  therefore  required,  and  in  this  the  mining  proper- 
ties of  Snohomish  county  are  favored  much  better  as  a rule  than 
is  the  case  elsewhere  in  Washington.  Three  lines  of  railway 
extend  from  tide-water  into  the  heart  of  the  mountains  and  into 
the  midst  of  the  mining  districts,  viz. : a branch  line  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  to  Darrington,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county;  the  Everett  & Monte  Cristo  to  the  town  of  Monte 
Cristo,  in  the  central  part  of  the  county ; and  the  Great  North- 
ern to  Index,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  Of  these  rail- 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


61 


ways  the  first  and  second  were  constructed  primarily  for  the 
purpose  of  hauling  ore  from  the  mines,  while  the  third  is  of 
course  a part  of  a great  overland  system. 

DARRINGTON  DISTRICT. 

By  d.  A.  Lyon. 

Darrington  district  is  situated  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Sno- 
homish county.  Although  it  is  unorganized,  yet  its  boundaries 
may  be  considered  to  be  the  Skagit  county  line  on  the  north,  the 
Stilaguamish  district  on  the  south,  and  the  summit  of  the  Cas- 
cades on  the  east.  The  district  is  drained  by  the  Sauk  river 
and  its  tributaries.  The  principal  town  of  the  district,  Darring- 
ton, is  situated  about  25  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Sauk. 
The  district  is  one  of  the  most  accessible  in  the  state.  During 
the  past  year  the  Northern  Pacific  railway  extended  a branch 
line  from  Arlington  to  Darrington.  There  are  also  several  good 
wagon  roads  leading  into  the  district.  Not  only  is  the  district 
well  located  as  regards  accessibility,  but  because  of  the  low  alti- 
tude the  mining  industry  is  not  handicapped  by  the  deep  snows, 
as  is  the  case  in  the  higher  Cascades. 

Although  more  or  less  development  work  has  been  going  on 
in  the  Darrington  district  for  some  years,  none  of  the  mines 
have  ever  been  regular  shippers.  This  has  been  due  partly  to 
the  fact  that  capital  has  been  wanting  to  develop  the  properties 
sufficiently,  and  also  because  there  has  been  no  way  of  getting 
the  ores  treated  after  they  have  been  taken  out,  for  the  ores  of 
the  district  are  smelting  ores.  Now  that  the  district  has  been 
entered  by  a railroad,  it  will  be  possible  to  interest  capital  in  the 
mines  and  property  holders  now  feet  that  the  future  of  the  dis- 
trict is  assured.  Most  of  the  mines  of  the  district  are  all  at  a 
higher  elevation  than  Darrington,  and  as  the  district  is  devel- 
oped it  seems  quite  likely  that  a system  of  aerial  tramways  will 
be  used  for  delivering  the  ores  from  the  mines  to  Darrington, 
either  for  treatment  at  that  point,  or  to  be  loaded  and  shipped 
to  smelters  at  Tacoma  and  Everett.  One  of  the  largest  prop- 
erty holders  of  the  district  informed  the  writer  that  ore  can  be 
mined  and  delivered  at  Darrington  for  $3.75  per  ton.  The  rate 
on  ore  by  rail  from  Darrington  to  Everett  is  $2,  or  to  Tacoma 
$2.50  per  ton.  Thus,  ore  can  be  mined,  freighted  and  smelted 
for  about  $10.75  Per  ton-  As  the  ores  of  the  district  run  from. 


62 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


$16  to  $84  in  value  per  ton,  it  would  seem  as  if  mining  could  be 
carried  on  in  this  district  at  a profit. 

Darrington  is  not  only  a mining  center,  but  it  is  situated  also 
in  the  heart  of  a very  extensive  timber  district,  and  in  the 
near-by  river  valleys  there  are  also  large  areas  of  agricultural 
land. 

As  to  the  rock  formations  of  the  district,  we  find  in  at  least  two 
places  the  same  kind  of  fine  grained  black  slate  which  is  found 
along  Ruby  creek  and  on  Slate  creek.  In  the  first  of  these  places 
the  slate  is  found  on  each  side  of  Sauk  river  for  a distance  of  about 
ten  miles,  and  below  the  mouth  of  Whitechuck  creek.  The  sec- 
ond locality  is  found  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Sauk,  beginning 
about  three  miles  below  Darrington,  and  extending  for  four 
miles.  There  are  also  large  bodies  of  serpentine  in  the  district. 
Most  of  the  ore  bodies  have  slate  for  a hanging  wall  and  por- 
phyry for  a foot  wall.  The  following  are  some  of  the  more  im- 
portant properties  of  the  district : 

Burns* — The  Burns  group  consists  of  seven  claims  which  are 
situated  on  the  west  side  of  Gold  mountain.  The  ore  body  has 
been  exposed  for  a distance  of  100  feet,  and  is  shown  to  have 
an  average  width  of  4 feet.  The  ledge  can  be  traced  as  far 
as  the  Sauk  river,  where  it  has  an  outcrop  of  6 inches.  It  has 
an  east  and  west  trend  and  a dip  that  is  nearly  vertical. 

Blue  Bird* — The  Blue  Bird  group  of  claims  is  owned  by  S.  S. 
Gardiner  and  others  of  Everett.  Between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred feet  of  tunneling  has  been  done  on  this  property,  and  100 
tons  of  good  ore  taken  out  which  assays  about  $33  per  ton. 
The  vein  of  ore  has  an  average  width  of  eight  feet. 

Elwell-Darrmgton. — The  property  of  the  Elwell-Darrington 
Mining  Company  is  on  the  east  side  of  Gold  mountain,  and  is 
located  on  an  extension  of  the  Burns  group.  The  principal 
ledge  is  from  7 to  8 feet  wide,  with  a pay  streak  varying  from  2 
to  3 feet  in  width. 

Harley* — The  Harley  group  consists  of  eight  claims,  which 
are  situated  about  the  middle  of  Gold  mountain,  and  owned  by 
Chas.  Burns.  The  vein  of  ore  is  4 feet  wide  and  outcrops  for 
about  150  feet.  It  carries  mostly  gold  values,  and  assays  $42 
or  $43  per  ton. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


63 


Hunter  and  White  Gander* — The  Hunter  and  White  Gander 
group,  made  up  of  six  claims  on  the  west  side  of  Jumbo  moun- 
tain, is  owned  by  Burns  and  Neste.  The  development  work 
consists  of  three  open  cuts  and  one  50-foot  tunnel  on  the  Hunter, 
and  one  15-foot  tunnel  and  two  open  cuts  on  the  White  Gander. 
The  average  assay  value  of  the  ore  is  between  $15  and  $ 20  per 
ton. 

Molly*—  This  group  is  also  located  on  Jumbo  mountain,  and 
is  owned  by  Neste  and  others.  The  development  work  on  these 
claims  consists  of  two  tunnels,  one  of  which  is  about  170  feet 
in  length,  and  another  50  feet  in  length.  The  average  assay 
value  of  the  ore  is  about  $ 1 5 per  ton,  of  which  one  half  is  in 
gold  and  the  remainder  in  silver  and  copper.  The  same  pro- 
portion holds  good  with  the  other  ores  of  Jumbo  mountain. 

Sloman* — The  property  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of 
White  Horse  mountain.  The  ledge  is  about  five  foot  wide,  and 
a mill  test  made  on  the  ore  gave  it  a value  of  $33  per  ton.  The 
property  has  been  developed  to  the  extent  of  two  tunnels  of  50 
feet  each. 

There  are  many  other  properties  in  the  Darrington  district 
which  have  been  located  for  some  time,  and  upon  which  a con- 
siderable amount  of  development  work  has  been  done.  There 
is  no  reliable  data  at  hand  concerning  these,  and  for  that  reason 
they  can  not  be  mentioned  in  this  report. 

STILAGUAMISH  DISTRICT. 

By  Wm.  S.  Thyng. 

The  Stilaguamish  mining  district,  of  which  the  center  is  Sil- 
verton,  lies  upon  both  sides  of  the  Stilaguamish  river,  in  very 
nearly  the  geographical  center  of  Snohomish  county.  Silverton 
is  reached  from  Seattle,  via  Everett,  by  the  Everett  & Monte 
Cristo  Railway,  which  follows  the  valley  of  the  Stilaguamish 
river.  The  town  of  Silverton,  located  in  the  river  valley,  lies  at 
an  altitude  of  about  1,500  feet  above  sea  level,  while  on  both 
sides  the  mountains  rise  to  a height  of  from  3,000  to  5,000  feet 
above  sea  level,  with  the  characteristic  rough  contours  of  the 
Cascades. 

Previous  to  1897  a very  large  number  of  claims  had  been 
located  in  this  district,  both  north  and  south  of  the  river,  and 


64 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


many  of  the  properties  so  located  had  already  given  great  prom- 
ise as  future  producers,  and  considerable  ore  had  been  shipped, 
when  in  November,  1897,  the  excessively  high  water  in  the  Stil- 
aguamish,  caused  by  the  melting  snows  above  caused  a number 
of  very  bad  washouts  along  the  line  of  the  Everett  & Monte 
Cristo  Railway,  putting  a stop  for  the  time  being  to  all  mining 
operations  along  the  line.  This  shutdown,  as  it  may  be  termed, 
of  all  the  mines  of  Silverton,  continued  until  early  in  the  season 
of  1901,  when  the  railroad  having  been  extensively  repaired, 
and  even  rebuilt  at  many  points,  mining  operations  were  again 
resumed.  The  repairs  made  upon  the  roadbed  were  of  so  sub- 
stantial a character,  and  so  well  protected  is  the  road,  that  no 
future  trouble  is  looked  for  from  high  water  in  the  river. 

The  general  direction  of  the  Stilaguamish,  as  it  passes 
through  this  district,  is  east  and  west,  which  is  also  the  general 
trend  of  the  mountains  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  From  the 
river  valley  at  Silverton  wagon  roads  and  trails,  principally  the 
latter,  radiate  in  all  directions  to  the  different  mining  properties 
located  in  the  surrounding  mountains.  A broad  mineral  belt, 
averaging  perhaps  ten  or  twelve  miles  in  width,  and  which  con- 
tains most  of  the  important  ledges  of  the  district,  extends  nearly 
north  and  south  at  this  point.  The  individual  veins  or  ledges 
extend  in  a general  east  and  west  direction,  those  lying  to  the 
north  of  the  river  showing  a general  tendency  to  strike  a little 
to  the  north  of  east,  while  those  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
maintain  a general  strike  to  the  south  of  east.  The  veins  thus 
show,  apparently,  a tendency  to  converge  as  the  river  is  followed 
downward  or  westward. 

It  seems  altogether  probable  that  the  mineral  belt  described 
is  the  same  which  includes  Darrington  on  the  north  and  Index 
on  the  south,  although  the  ores  of  the  latter  locality  can  hardly 
be  called  similar.  The  underlying  or  fundamental  rock  of  the 
district  is  undoubtedly  granite,  with  certain  of  the  sedimentary 
rocks  superimposed  above.  Following  down  the  valley  of  the 
Stilaguamish,  from  above  its  junction  with  Palmer  creek  to  a 
point  several  miles  below  Silverton  are  found  a series  of  terminal 
moraines,  showing  clearly  the  glacial  retreat  up  the  river  valley. 
At  some  points  these  moraines  immediately  overlie  the  granite 
formation. 

While  many  true  fissure  veins  are  found  in  the  district,  still 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


65 


a large  number  of  ledges  occur  at  contacts  of  granite  and  dior- 
ite.  The  characteristic  ore  is  chalcopyrite,  which  in  the  major- 
ity of  cases  carries  the  gold  values.  The  chief  values  found  in 
all  the  ore  thus  far  mined  lie  in  copper,  gold  aud  silver,  which 
last  usually  occurs  with  galena,  found  in  a greater  or  less 
amount  in  most  of  the  ores.  Pyrite,  arsenopyrite  (mispickel) 
and  pyrrhotite  are  very  frequently  found  associated  with  the 
more  common  chalcopyrite ; zinc  blende  (sphalerite)  is  also  fre- 
quently met  with,  and  most  commonly  occurs  associated  with 
the  galena.  Small  quantities  of  ruby  silver,  chiefly  antimonial 
(pyrargyrite),  are  occasionally  found,  notably  in  the  ore  of  the 
Forty-five  mine. 

The  topography  of  the  country  is  admirably  adapted  to  eco- 
nomical mining,  many  of  the  mountain  slopes  being  so  steep 
that  considerable  depth  may  be  obtained  with  a comparatively 
small  amount  of  tunnel  work.  As  but  one  of  the  mines  of  the 
district,  the  Forty-five,  is  or  has  been  a regular  shipper  of  ore, 
Silverton  may  fairly  be  considered  as  in  its  infancy  as  regards 
production,  and  it  may  readily  be  seen  that  an  enormous  amount 
of  ore  lies  in  the  surrounding  mountains,  ready  to  be  mined  and 
shipped  without  the  sinking  of  a single  shaft.  While  the  smaller 
creeks  which  drain  the  district  and  empty  into  the  river  from 
the  sides,  can  not  all  be  depended  upon  for  a steady  flow  at  all 
seasons,  and  hence  do  not  offer  the  best  facilities  for  water 
power,  still  outside  of  the  question  of  power,  they  should  fur- 
nish ample  water  for  each  individual  camp. 

The  district  has  not  by  any  means  been  thoroughly  prospected 
at  all  points,  although  the  ground  has  been  fairly  well  covered 
within  a radius  of  four  or  five  miles  from  Silverton.  Most  of 
the  region  is  heavily  timbered,  which,  together  with  the  thick 
surface  soil  at  many  points,  makes  thorough  prospecting  a diffi- 
cult matter.  Mr.  R.  H.  Stretch,  who  has  made  a careful  study 
of  the  geology  of  the  district,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
a few  miles  east  of  Silverton,  the  overlying  sedimentary  rocks 
contain  thin  beds  of  coal,  apparently  semi-bituminous,  which  in 
all  probability  belong  to  the  same  age  as  the  coal  fields  of  Hamil- 
ton, in  Skagit  county,  but  lying  on  the  eastern  slope  of  a broad 
anticline  along  the  crest  of  which  the  mineral  zone  has  been  devel- 
oped. Mr.  Stretch  further  believes  that  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  general  strike  of  one  system  of  lodes  — the  northwest  — is  in 


5— II 


66  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


some  way  connected  with  the  southeast  course  of  Deer  creek, 
which  is  continued  in  the  bed  of  the  Stilaguamish  river  from  the 
mouth  of  Deer  creek  to  the  summit  of  Barlow  pass.  To  this 
system  belong  such  mines  as  the  Forty-five  and  the  Bonanza 
Queen,  to  the  south  and  north  of  Silverton  respectively,  the  fis- 
sure in  each  case  having  been  traced  through  many  contiguous 
claims. 

Ore  was  first  discovered  in  this  region  in  the  summer  of  1891, 
when  the  Hoodoo,  Independent,  Anacortes  and  Bonanza  Queen 
ledges  were  found  and  located.  The  first  name  of  the  camp  was 
Independence,  but  in  August,  1891,  the  name  Silverton  was 
adopted,  and  a town  site  was  established  the  following  winter. 
The  railroad  was  built  in  1892-3. 

Forty-Five. — This  is  the  only  property  in  the  district  which 
has  shipped  any  large  amount  of  ore  at  the  present  time.  It 
is  owned  and  managed  by  the  Forty-five  Consolidated  Mining 
Company,  of  which  Mr.  L.  A.  Dyer  is  president  and  Mr.  N.  B. 
Jones,  superintendent;  the  offices  of  the  company  are  in  Seattle. 
The  company  owns  six  claims  upon  what  is  known  as  the  Deu 
Pree  lode,  and  located  on  an  air  line  about  two  miles  southeast 
of  Silverton.  The  mine  is  reached  from  the  town  by  pack  trail, 
which  passes  through  Marble  pass  at  an  altitude  of  4,190  feet; 
the  mine  is  also  reached  by  wagon  road  from  Sultan,  a point  to 
the  southwest  on  the  line  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway. 

The  six  claims  owned  by  the  company  are  the  Herb,  Norm, 
Mountain  Ram,  Magus,  Deu  Pree  and  Hard  to  Beat.  The  ore 
body  is  a fissure  vein  cutting  through  diorite,  and  strikes  a few 
degrees  to  the  north  of  west,  dipping  south  at  an  average  angle 
of  80  degrees.  The  average  width  of  the  ledge  is  not  far  from 
six  feet,  and  the  mineralization  is  quite  uniform,  there  being  no 
distinct  pay  streaks ; the  gangue  material  is  largely  quartz, 
much  of  it  somewhat  decomposed.  Although  the  chief  values 
are  in  silver  and  gold,  the  ore  is  very  base,  carrying  an  average 
of  four  per  cent,  of  galena,  and  considerable  amounts  of  zinc 
blende  and  iron  pyrites,  besides  some  chalcopyrite  and  mispickel; 
gray  copper  ore  (tetrahedrite  ) is  also  found,  sometimes  in  notable 
quantities.  The  greatest  values  in  both  of  the  precious  metals 
are  found  in  the  galena,  although  some  of  the  silver  is  associ- 
ated with  the  pyrite  ; near  the  surface,  considerable  ruby  silver, 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


67 


mostly  of  the  antimonial  variety  ( pyrargyrite),  is  encountered, 
often  in  large  enough  quantities  to  form  handsome  specimens. 

The  main  workings  of  the  mine  are  located  on  the  Magus 
claim,  about  4,000  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Here  the  main  tun- 
nel, No.  2,  has  been  run  in  232  feet  to  the  vein,  along  which 
about  950  feet  of  drifting  has  been  done;  from  this  drift,  a two- 
compartment  shaft,  5 by  8 feet  in  cross-section,  has  been  sunk  a 
distance  of  107  feet,  and  at  the  75-foot  level,  135  feet  of  drifting 
work  has  been  done.  From  the  main  level,  cross-cuts  aggregat- 
ing 150  feet  have  been  run,  chiefly  to  prospect  for  parallel  ledges. 
On  the  Deu  Pree  claim,  tunnel  No.  1,  the  first  one  driven  by  the 
company,  cuts  the  vein  at  a distance  of  27  feet,  and  from  that 
tunnel  100  feet  of  drifting  has  been  done.  About  175  feet  of 
drifting  has  been  done  upon  the  Hard  to  Beat  claim,  the  most 
easterly  of  the  group.  All  drilling  is  done  by  hand,  as,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  Independent  mine,  no  machine  drills  are 
used  in  the  district. 

The  contours  of  the  country,  and  present  economic  condi- 
tions, make  it  necessary  to  carry  the  ore  by  aerial  tramway  to 
Silverton,  the  nearest  railroad  point.  A wire  rope  gravity  tram 
of  the  Hallidie  patent,  brings  the  ore  down  the  mountain  side,  a 
distance  of  3,700  feet,  to  the  headquarters  camp,  located  at  an  alti- 
tude of  about  3,000  feet.  At  this  point  the  ore  is  roughly  hand- 
picked and  transferred  to  a second  tram,  of  the  same  patent, 
13,200  feet  long,  which  runs  via  Marble  Pass  (whose  altitude  is 
4,190  feet),  to  a point  upon  the  railroad  about  one-quarter  of  a 
mile  below  Silverton,  and  from  whence  the  ore  is  shipped.  As 
the  two  parts,  or  legs  of  this  main  tram,  on  each  side  of  Marble 
pass,  are  too  nearly  equal  to  admit  of  its  running  by  gravity 
alone,  additional  power  is  had  from  an  electric  motor  placed  at 
the  headquarters  station. 

Previous  to  the  building  of  this  tram,  in  1897,  high  grade  ore 
was  taken  to  Silverton  by  pack  train,  and  shipped  from  that  point. 
The  tram  was  completed  just  as  the  washout  occurred  upon 
the  railroad,  but  considerable  high  grade  ore  was  still  shipped 
while  the  railroad  was  out  of  service,  by  wagon  road,  to  Sultan. 
This  shipment  by  pack  train  and  wagons  involved  the  accumula- 
tion of  considerable  ore  of  lower  grade  at  the  mine  and  head- 
quarters camp,  and  in  August,  1901,  it  was  estimated  that  about 
15,000  tons  of  this  lower  or  second  grade  ore  was  still  on  hand. 


68 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Little  Chief.  — About  a mile  and  a half  due  south  of  the 
Forty-five  No.  2 tunnel  is  found  the  Little  Chief  property,  owned 
by  the  Stilaguamish  and  Sultan  Mining  Company,  of  which  Mr. 
J.  W.  Clise,  of  the  Clise  Investment  Company,  Seattle,  is  vice- 
president  and  general  manager.  Upon  this  property,  which  lies 
on  the  west  side  of  Little  Chief  peak,  about  300  feet  of  tunneling 
and  100  feet  of  drifting  has  been  done,  together  with  some  60 
feet  of  cross-cuts.  The  company  has  also  done  considerable 
prospecting  with  diamond  drill,  but  the  mine  has  thus  far  never 
been  a producer.  The  ore  is  low  grade,  with  the  chief  values  in 
gold  and  copper. 

Independent.  — Of  the  other  properties  upon  the  south  side 
of  the  river,  the  Independent  probably  comes  second  in  impor- 
tance at  the  present  time,  to  the  Forty-five.  This  mine  is  located 
less  than  a mile  to  the  southeast  of  Silverton,  and  of  all  the 
properties  of  the  district,  is  probably  the  easiest  of  access.  It  is 
owned  and  operated  by  the  Copper-Independent  Consolidated 
Mining  Company,  of  which  Mr.  M.  D.  Little,  of  Boston,  Mass., 
is  president,  and  Mr.  Arthur  W.  Hawks,  of  Snohomish,  general 
manager. 

The  ore  body  is  a fissure  vein  in  granite,  and  strikes  very 
nearly  north  and  south,  with  a steep  dip.  The  values  are  in 
gold,  associated  chiefly  with  arsenopyrite,  although  considerable 
amounts  of  iron  pyrite  are  found.  The  mineralization  is  quite 
uniform  throughout  the  ledge,  which  is  wide  and  has  pronounced 
walls.  The  ore  is  of  such  character  as  to  require  concentration 
before  shipping.  The  main  opening  consists  of  a drift  about 
500  feet  long,  from  which  a raise  has  been  pushed  up  120  feet 
to  a short  tunnel  or  drift  above.  That  the  vein  matter  upon  the 
ledge  is  very  soft  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it  has  suffered  a large 
amount  of  erosion  between  the  walls,  forming  a steep  chasm, 
which  has  become  the  bed  of  a small  water  course.  A three- 
drill  air  compressor  was  installed  at  the  mine  during  the  summer 
of  1901,  and  preparations  made  to  put  out  ore  for  shipment,  but 
since  that  time  it  has  been  impossible  to  obtain  from  the  officers 
of  the  company  any  information  as  to  advancement  in  develop- 
ment. One  car  load  of  picked  ore  has  been  shipped  to  the 
smelter  at  Everett. 

Imperial. — The  Imperial  mine,  owned  and  operated  by  the 
Imperial  Mining  Company,  lies  about  one  and  one-half  miles 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


69 


east  of  Silverton.  The  president  of  the  company  is  Mr.  James 
E.  Deu  Pree,  of  Marysville,  and  Mr.  M.  Swinnerton,  of  Silver- 
ton,  is  superintendent.  The  company  owns  eleven  claims  cov- 
ering three  ledges,  the  most  important  of  the  claims  being  the 
Anacortes  and  the  Mountain  View.  The  main  vein  is  in  a con- 
tact of  diorite  and  conglomerate.  The  chief  values  of  the  ore 
are  in  copper  and  silver,  with  some  small  amounts  of  gold.  A 
total  of  about  400  feet  of  development  work  has  been  done,  the 
main  tunnel  having  an  altitude  of  2,500  feet. 

Bonanza  Queen* — This  group  of  eight  claims  is  located  about 
one  mile  due  north  of  Silverton,  and  on  the  west  side  of  Deer 
creek.  The  property  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  original  loca- 
tors, who  are  represented  in  Silverton  by  Mr.  A.  Sutherland. 
The  claims  cover  four  distinct  ledges,  of  which  the  most  impor- 
tant are  the  Bonanza  Queen  and  the  Oregon,  running  nearly 
parallel  and  side  by  side.  It  strikes  southeast  by  south,  and 
stands  nearly  vertical.  The  values  are  chiefly  in  gold  and  cop- 
per, which  occur  associated  with  mispickel.  The  vein  is  wide, 
and  the  mineralization,  forming  the  pay  streak,  has  taken  place 
chiefly  along  the  foot  wall.  A total  of  about  1,200  feet  of  devel- 
opment work,  mostly  drifting,  has  been  done  upon  the  property ; 
the  very  abrupt  slopes  which  are  met  with,  particularly  upon  the 
most  northerly  claims,  offering  unusual  facilities  for  cheap  min- 
ing. The  average  altitude  of  this  group  is  2,700  feet. 

St*  Louis*— The  St.  Louis  mine  is  on  a ledge  which  is  cut  by 
Deer  creek,  about  three  miles  north  of  Silverton.  It  is  reached 
from  town  by  a four-mile  wagon  road,  following  up  Deer  creek. 
The  ledge  is  mostly  of  high  grade  ore  but  is  very  narrow,  rang- 
ing usually  from  about  18  to  36  inches.  The  property  has  been 
opened  by  two  drifts,  connected  by  a winze,  some  of  the  work 
having  been  done  by  power  drills.  The  main  drift  is  about  600 
feet  in  length,  and  shows  good  continuity  of  ore,  which  is  mostly 
chalcopyrite,  with  copper  values  running  about  20  per  cent. 
Considerable  silver  and  some  gold  is  found  associated  with  the 
ore.  At  the  present  time  very  little  besides  assessment  work  is 
being  done  upon  the  property.  Some  small  shipments  have 
been  made. 

Helena* — This  group  of  claims,  owned  by  the  Deer  Creek 
Gold  and  Copper  Mining  Company,  is  located  some  two  miles 


70 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey . 


north  of  the  St.  Louis  upon  the  divide  between  Deer  creek  and 
Clear  creek.  All  of  this  divide  is  taken  up  in  claims,  which 
cover  two  systems  of  veins.  The  wagon  road  which  leads  past 
the  St.  Louis  reaches  to  the  foot  of  the  divide,  but  in  order  that 
ore  may  be  shipped  in  any  quantity,  a tram  of  some  form  will 
be  necessary  to  bring  it  down  from  the  mine.  The  granite  for- 
mation is  exposed  for  several  hundred  feet  along  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  and  shows  a ledge  of  great  width  carrying  low  grade 
ore.  The  main  tunnel,  which  is  located  some  800  feet  from  the 
summit,  is  124  feet  long,  and  from  it  125  feet  of  drifting  has 
been  done.  Another  tunnel  has  been  started  about  1,000  feet 
below  to  tap  the  main  ledge.  A number  of  small  shipments  ag- 
gregating about  1 50  tons  were  made  before  the  railroad  washout 
to  the  smelter  at  Everett,  but  at  the  present  time  nothing 
beyond  assessment  work  is  being  done. 

Another  group  of  claims  near  by  and  well  worthy  of  mention 
is  that  of  the  Four  Brothers,  owned  by  the  Copper-Independent 
Consolidated  Mining  Company.  About  130  feet  of  development 
work  has  been  done  upon  this  property,  which  lies  west  of  the 
Helena  group. 

Although,  outside  of  the  Forty-five  mine,  no  ore  of  any  conse- 
quence was  shipped  from  this  district  during  the  past  season, 
1901,  a very  large  amount  of  assessment  work  and  considerable 
further  development  was  done,  notably  upon  the  Hoodoo  group 
south  of  the  river,  and  owned  by  the  Stilaguamish  and  Sultan 
Mining  Company,  the  Fraction,  New  Seattle,  Cleveland  and 
others. 

Silverton  is  but  48  miles  by  rail  from  the  Everett  smelter, 
which  fact  in  itself  should  be  of  the  greatest  value  in  the  future 
successful  development  of  the  district. 

MONTE  CRISTO  DISTRICT. 

By  Wm.  S.  Thyng. 

This  district  is  located  in  the  eastern  part  of  Snohomish 
county,  about  twelve  miles  southeast  of  Silverton.  The  town  of 
Monte  Cristo,  which  forms  the  terminus  of  the  Everett  & 
Monte  Cristo  Railway,  is  reached  from  Seattle  via  that  road, 
making  connection  with  the  Northern  Pacific  branch  line  at 
Hartford  Junction,  or  with  the  Great  Northern  Railway  at  Ever- 
ett. Monte  Cristo  is  located  in  the  valley  of  the  Sauk  river,  just 


OUTCROP  OF  INDEPENDENCE  LEDGE.  MONTE  CRISTO. 


Washington  Geological  Survey.  Annual  Report,  1901.  Plate  VII. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


71 


below  its  source ; the  town  occupies  an  immense  natural  basin, 
with  precipitous  mountains  rising  upon  all  sides,  which  are  cut 
in  many  places  by  steep  gulches. 

The  first  claim  staked  in  the  district  was  the  Independence 
of  1776,  located  on  the  4th  of  July,  1889.  This  claim  is  situated 
upon  the  east  side  of  what  is  now  known  as  Seventy-six  gulch. 
The  ledge  has  a most  pronounced  outcrop  which  can  be  traced 
a long  distance  up  the  steep  side  of  the  gulch,  until  it  is  finally 
lost  under  a large  glacier.  The  ore  body  at  the  outcrop  is  com- 
posed largely  of  galena.  It  has  been  opened  at  several  points 
by  short  drifts  and  open  cuts,  but  no  ore  has  been  shipped  and 
no  work  worthy  of  mention  has  been  done  upon  it  for  several 
years.  This  is  now  one  of  the  many  properties  in  the  district 
owned  by  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller  and  his  business  associates. 

All  of  the  properties  of  this  district,  like  those  tributary  to 
Silverton,  underwent  an  enforced  shut-down  during  the  two 
years  following  the  washout  of  the  Everett  & Monte  Cristo 
Railway,  which  occurred  in  November  1897.  During  this  period 
the  only  means  of  communication  with  the  outside  world  was 
over  the  dismantled  roadbed  of  the  railway  which  follows  the 
valley  of  the  Stilaguamish  river.  Since  the  repairing  and  re- 
building of  the  railway,  while  this  dirtrict  has  not  enjoyed  the 
marked  revival  of  interest  which  has  taken  place  in  Silverton,  it 
has  nevertheless  resumed  its  place  as  a large  producer  of  ore. 
The  output  has  been,  however,  almost  entirely  from  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Monte  Cristo  Mining  and  Concentration  Company, 
which  is,  therefore,  at  the  present  day  as  well  as  in  the  past,  the 
chief  producer. 

Monte  Cristo*  — The  Monte  Cristo  mine,  operated  by  the 
above  mentioned  company,  of  which  the  president  and  chief 
stockholder  is  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller,  and  the  superintendent 
Mr.  William  E.  Sutton,  is  now  operating  three  claims,  viz. : the 
Pride  of  the  Woods,  the  Pride  of  the  Mountains,  and  the  Eighty- 
nine.  These  are  three  of  the  fourteen  claims  upon  which  the 
mine  is  located.  The  company  owns  a total  of  thirty-five  claims 
in  the  district.  In  the  Monte  Cristo  mine  about  12,000  feet  of 
tunnel  and  cross-cut  work  have  been  done,  besides  a large  amount 
of  stoping.  The  principal  vein,  which  has  been  formed  in  a fis- 
sure in  diorite,  strikes  a little  north  of  east  with  a dip  ranging 
from  55  degrees  to  70  degrees  to  the  northwest.  The  values  run 


72  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 

chiefly  in  gold  and  silver,  although  some  lead  is  saved  in  smelt- 
ing. The  milling  ore  extracted  from  the  mine  averages  $6  per 
ton  in  value,  of  which  about  $4  is  in  gold.  This  ore  is  concen- 
trated in  the  company’s  mill,  located  in  the  town  of  Monte  Cristo. 
In  the  concentration  the  ore  is  brought  down  from  3 or  3 *4  tons 
to  1 ton.  The  mine  is  located  due  east  of  the  town,  all  of  the 
ore  being  transported  to  the  mill  by  two  wire  rope  trams,  of  the 
Bleichert  patent,  one  3,6oo-feet  and  the  other  6,250  feet  in  length. 
The  mine  during  the  past  summer  (1901)  was  producing  ore  at 
the  rate  of  3,500  tons  per  month,  so  that  about  1,000  tons  of 
concentrates  were  shipped  monthly.  While  working,  with  the 
exception  of  the  first  two  years  of  its  history,  the  mine  has  pro- 
duced an  average  of  39,000  tons  of  milling  ore  yearly.  All  of  the 
ore  which  is  mined  is  crushed  and  washed,  the  product  containing 
an  average  of  but  ten  per  cent,  of  gangue  matter.  The  loss  in 
concentrating  is  stated  to  vary  from  18  to  30  per  cent,  according 
to  the  degree  of  mineralization  of  the  ore  treated.  All  of  the 
concentrates  are  shipped  to  the  smelter  at  Everett. 

During  the  summer  of  1901  the  Monte  Cristo  was  the  only 
mine  in  the  district  that  was  shipping  ore.  Other  properties 
were  either  lying  idle  or  else  undergoing  little  besides  assessment 
work. 

O*  and  B. — Among  the  other  properties  which  have  shipped 
ore  from  this  district  in  times  past  the  O.  and  B.  mine  should 
be  mentioned  as  perhaps  the  most  important.  This  mine  was 
operated  until  a short  time  before  the  railroad  washout,  when 
operations  ceased,  it  is  understood,  on  account  of  certain  internal 
troubles  among  the  owners.  The  mine  is  located  about  one-half 
mile  south  of  Monte  Cristo  and  has  an  elevation  of  some  1,200 
feet  above  the  railroad.  The  ore  occurs  as  a fissure  vein  in 
diorite.  The  outcrop  is  exceedingly  well  defined  and  with  the 
present  development  shows  good  continuity  of  vein.  The  ore 
consists  mostly  of  pyrite  and  arsenopyrite  (mispickel)  with  some 
galena  and  zinc  blende  in  a gangue  of  quartzite.  The  develop- 
ment to  date  consists  of  two  drifts  about  70  feet  apart,  vertically, 
and  aggregating  about  600  feet  in  length.  Considerable  stoping 
has  also  been  done,  mostly  from  the  lower,  or  main  drift.  The 
ore  was  hand-sorted  at  the  mine  and  bi ought  down  to  the  rail- 
road by  means  of  a wire  rope  gravity  tram.  The  tram  has  been 
removed  since  the  shut-down  of  the  mine.  About  twelve  car 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


73 


loads  of  ore  in  all  were  shipped  from  this  mine  to  the  smelter  at 
Everett. 

The  ore  bodies  in  the  district  exist  largely  as  lenticular  masses 
with  very  little  uniformity  in  strike  and  dip.  It  has  been  found 
in  the  development  of  a number  of  the  properties,  that  on  the 
flatter  pitches  in  these  lenses  the  mineralization  is  heavier  than 
where  the  dip  is  steeper,  but  that  at  the  same  time  the  gangue 
minerals  are  quite  largely  disintegrated.  At  all  depths  so  far 
reached,  the  greatest  of  which  exceeds  1,200  feet  from  the  sur- 
face, sphalerite  (zinc  blende)  is  encountered  in  quantities  aver- 
aging about  five  per  cent,  of  the  total  mineralization  and  carrying 
small  amounts  of  disseminated  galena.  The  pure  galena  which 
is  found  in  these  veins  rarely  occurs,  however,  at  a greater  depth 
than  150  feet  and  then  usually  accompanied  by  chalcopyrite  in 
varying  quantities.  The  arsenopyrite  or  mispickel,  which  carries 
the  greatest  amount  of  gold  values,  is  found  pure  at  all  depths 
and  rarely  changes  its  value  in  gold;  the  iron  pyrite  undoubtedly 
decreases  in  value  with  depth,  and  in  many  instances  is  altered, 
or  replaced  by  pyrrhotite.  Realgar  is  found  at  all  depths  and 
runs  downward  from  the  surface  in  distinct  and  narrow  chim- 
neys. 

The  ore  shoots  themselves,  so  far  as  have  been  shown  by  the 
dovelopment  work  in  the  Monte  Cristo  mine,  have  never  been 
less  than  200  feet  long  (measured  along  the  strike  of  the  vein), 
and  over  700  feet  in  depth.  The  ore  shoots  or  pay  streaks  are 
readily  distinguished  on  the  eroded  surface  of  the  outcrop  as  w^ell 
as  under  ground.  The  arsenopyrite,  or  white  iron  as  it  is  locally 
called,  carries  values  as  high  as  2*4  ounces  of  gold  and  6 or  7 
ounces  of  silver  per  ton  of  ore. 

Thus  far  in  the  development  work  of  the  district  no  faulting 
to  any  extent  in  the  ore  bodies  has  been  discovered. 

SILVER  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

BY  WM.  S.  THYNG. 

This  district,  as  the  southern  extension  of  the  Monte  Cristo 
mineral  belt,  forms  practically  a connecting  link  between  the 
Monte  Cristo  district  on  the  north,  and  the  Index  district  on  the 
south.  Silver  creek  has  its  source  in  Silver  lake  on  the  divide 
about  one  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  Monte  Cristo,  and 


74  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


joins  the  north  fork  of  the  Skykomish  river  at  Galena,  nine 
miles  to  the  southward. 

The  mines  in  the  district  are  properly  tributary  to  Index, 
from  which  place  an  excellent  wagon  road,  built  and  main- 
tained by  Snohomish  county,  follows  up  the  north  fork  of  the 
Skykomish  river  ten  miles  to  Galena,  the  most  southerly  point 
of  the  district.  From  Galena,  all  of  the  different  properties  lo- 
cated further  up  on  both  sides  of  the  creek,  are  reached  by  trail. 
The  district  received  its  name  from  the  deposits  of  silver-lead 
ore  first  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Galena.  As  the  country 
above  was  further  prospected  and  developed,  however,  large 
bodies  of  copper  and  iron  carrying  gold  were  found,  so  that 
when  the  district  becomes  a producer,  the  ores  shipped  will  be 
of  a varied  character.  The  district  was  one  of  the  first  discov- 
ered in  the  Cascades,  and  although  it  contains  a very  great 
number  of  properties,  many  of  them  high  grade,  the  lack  of 
transportation  facilities  thus  far  has  been  the  cause  of  a dispro- 
portionately small  amount  of  development  work  being  done.  A 
railroad  built  from  Index  into  the  district  would  undoubtedly 
awake  the  very  greatest  activity  in  mining  work,  and  there  are  a 
considerable  number  of  properties  which  could  thus  at  once  be 
placed  upon  a paying  basis. 

The  country  rock  of  the  district  is  mainly  granite,  less  of  the 
overlying  sedimentary  rocks  being  found  than  at  Silverton  to 
the  northward.  The  granite  outcrops  at  a number  of  points 
along  the  entire  length  of  Silver  creek.  The  ore  bodies  are 
mostly  true  fissure  veins,  which  have  a general  trend  a little  to 
the  south  of  east.  The  ledges  or  veins  are  cut  and  faulted  to 
some  extent  by  probably  a later  series  of  fissures,  which  appear 
to  have  a general  direction  or  strike  of  northeast  and  southwest. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  the  mineralization  at  the  head  of 
Silver  creek,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  district,  is  principally  in 
copper  and  iron,  the  latter  appearing  chiefly  as  arsenopyrite, 
carrying  the  greater  values  in  gold  and  silver ; the  lower  part  of 
the  district,  about  and  immediately  above  Galena,  contains  a 
large  amount  of  silver-lead  ore,  although  considerable  chalcopy- 
rite  is  still  found  here  carrying  some  gold  but  taking  second 
place. 

Bonanza. — Possibly  the  most  notable  property  in  the  district 
is  that  of  the  Bonanza  Mining  and  Smelting  Company,  of  which 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


75 


Mr.  Peter  Chiodo,  address  Index,  Washington,  is  president  and 
general  manager.  This  property  consists  of  twelve  claims,  lo- 
cated on  the  west  side  of  Silver  creek,  one  mile  above  Mineral 
city,  or  about  midway  between  Galena  and  Monte  Cristo.  These 
twelve  claims  are  the  Louise,  Edison,  Rattler,  White  Rose, 
Emma,  Monarch,  Northern  Light,  Leo,  Maggie,  Jessie,  Juno 
and  Red  Rose.  Considerable  parallelism  is  found  in  the  ledges 
covered  by  these  claims,  the  general  strike  being  a little  east  of 
north.  Up  to  August,  1901,  the  development  work  aggregated 
some  1,500  feet;  a main  crosscut  tunnel  has  been  run  into  the 
mountain,  a distance  of  over  600  feet  and  has  cut  five  wide 
ledges  of  60,  40,  15,  10  and  10  feet  respectively.  At  a point 
about  100  feet  beyond  its  present  face  this  crosscut  tunnel  is  ex- 
pected to  reach  the  Edison  ledge,  supposed  to  be  50  feet  wide. 
Besides  this  main  tunnel  a considerable  number  of  prospect  tun- 
nels and  open  cuts  have  been  driven  to  prove  the  continuation 
of  the  deposits,  all  on  a higher  level.  The  ore  is  arsenopyrite 
and  chalcopyrite,  the  former  carrying  gold.  All  five  ledges  con- 
tain concentrating  ore  at  many  points,  which  extends  from  wall 
to  wall.  The  value  of  the  ore  is  mostly  in  gold,  which  as  before 
mentioned  is  found  chiefly  associated  with  the  arsenopyrite. 
The  value  of  the  ore  varies  from  $10  to  $15  per  ton.  The  veins 
are  true  fissures  and  the  country  rock  is  granite.  (C.  R.  Red- 
ding, Index.) 

Copper  Chief* — The  Copper  Chief  claims,  four  in  number, 
operated  by  the  Copper  Chief  Mining  Company,  are  all  located 
upon  a ledge  extending  from  a point  on  the  west  bank  of  Silver 
creek  about  midway  between  Galena  and  Mineral  City  for  6,000 
feet  up  the  mountain  side.  The  ledge  strikes  about  east  and 
west,  with  a nearly  vertical  dip.  The  property  was  opened  up 
in  June,  1899,  since  which  time  about  $5, 000  has  been  spent  in 
development  work.  A total  of  320  feet  of  drifting  has  opened 
up  considerable  ore,  of  which  the  assays  average  $24  in  gold, 
silver  and  copper.  The  vein  is  eight  feet  in  width  and  the  ore 
consists  of  chalcopyrite,  galena  and  arsenoyyrite,  which  last 
carries  most  of  the  gold  values. 

Ontario* — The  Ontario  group  of  five  claims,  lying  immedi- 
ately south  of  the  Copper  Chief  group,  is  located  upon  a ledge 
which  is  very  nearly  parallel  to  that  of  the  Copper  Chief.  Work 


76 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


was  begun  upon  this  property  in  March,  1900.  A number  of 
drifts  have  been  run  upon  the  vein  at  different  levels,  aggrega- 
ting in  length  a little  over  400  feet,  and  it  is  estimated  that 
about  100  tons  of  ore  are  at  present  on  the  dump.  The  ledge 
is  about  six  feet  wide,  and  dips  steeply  to  the  north.  The  ore 
is  chiefly  galena,  carrying  paying  quantities  of  lead  and  running 
high  in  silver.  Some  value  in  gold  is  also  found,  but  associ- 
ated chiefly  with  iron  pyrite,  which  occurs  in  small  quantities. 
The  country  rock  of  this  property  and  also  of  the  Copper  Chief 
is  diorite. 

During  the  summer  of  1901  a considerable  amount  of  devel- 
opment work  was  done  in  the  district  over  and  above  'the  nec- 
essary assessment  work.  As  a result  of  a number  of  important 
properties  having  recently  changed  ownership,  the  season  was 
one  of  considerable  activity. 

INDEX  DISTRICT. 

By  Wm.  S.  Thyng. 

The  Index  district,  of  which  the  town  of  Index  forms  the 
economical  center  and  shipping  point,  is  located  in  the  southern 
part  of  Snohomish  county.  The  town  is  situated  at  the  junction 
of  the  north  and  south  forks  of  the  Skykomish  river,  and  may  be 
said  to  be  practically  surrounded  by  its  tributary  mining  proper- 
ties, although  most  of  the  more  notable  ones  lie  upon  the  eastern 
side  ; the  property  of  the  Bunker  Hill  and  Sullivan  Copper  Min- 
ing company,  which  lies  five  miles  to  the  northwest,  is  the  most 
noteworthy  exception  to  the  last  statement.  Index  lies  upon  the 
main  line  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway,  69  miles  from  Seattle, 
and  but  from  36  miles  from  the  Everett  smelter.  The  excellent 
transportation  facilities  thus  enjoyed  by  the  district  gives  it  a 
signal  advantage  over  the  greater  number  of  the  mining  districts 
in  the  Cascades,  and  indeed,  over  the  greater  proportion  of  the 
mines  in  the  whole  State  of  Washington. 

The  Index  district  is  here  considered  as  including  all  of  the 
properties  located  along  and  on  both  sides  of  the  north  fork  of 
the  Skykomish  river,  both  below  and  above  Galena.  The  Silver 
Creek  .district,  tributary  to  Index,  and  described  elsewhere,  is 
often  considered  as  including  all  of  the  mines  between  Monte 
Cristo  and  Index,  located  along  the  courses  of  both  Silver  creek 
and  the  north  fork  of  the  Skykomish,  the  former  stream  joining 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


77 


the  latter  at  Galena,  ten  miles  above  Index.  On  account  of  the 
geographical  features,  however,  as  well  as  of  the  marked  differ- 
ence in  the  character  of  the  ores  above  and  below  Galena,  the 
first  mentioned  division  is  thought  to  be  more  logical  and  proper. 

The  mines  of  the  district  are  located  mostly  at  some  little 
distance  from  the  town,  the  nearest  property  of  importance  being 
that  of  the  Index  Mining  company,  to  be  described  later.  Some 
of  the  mines,  notably  the  Ethel  and  the  Sunset,  are  provided 
with  excellent  means  of  ore  transportation  to  Index,  by  wagon 
road  and  surface  tram.  The  Copper  Bell,  the  property  of  the 
Bunker  Hill  and  Sullivan  Copper  Mining  company,  has  its  own 
connection  with  the  railway,  at  a point  about  five  miles  west  of 
the  station  at  Index.  Thus  far  most  of  the  other  properties  are 
reached  only  by  trail,  but  a considerable  number  are  so  located 
that  connection  might  easily  be  had  with  the  nearest  point  upon 
the  railway  by  means  of  aerial  or  wire  rope  tramways. 

The  fundamental  formation  of  the  district  is  granite,  which 
is  in  places  crossed  by  dykes  of  trap,  and  at  other  points  is  over- 
laid with  what  appears  to  be  slate,  probably  metamorphosed 
shale,  and  which  is  considerably  altered  and  softened  at  the  sur- 
face. Small  amounts  of  impure  limestone  are  also  found  at 
certain  points.  So  far  as  development  has  progressed  there  ap- 
pears to  be  but  little  uniformity  in  the  trend  or  direction  of  the 
important  ore  bodies,  but  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  ledges 
appear  to  be  fissure  veins,  cutting  the  granite  formation.  The 
typical  ores  are  chalcopyrite  and  bornite,  the  latter  being  gener- 
erally  found  in  greater  proportion  as  depth  is  attained.  Along 
with  bornite,  in  many  instances,  a considerable  amount  of  chal- 
cocite  (copper  glance)  is  found,  and  in  some  few  instances  small 
quantities  of  tetrahedrite  (gray  copper  ore)  are  met  with.  Silver 
is  found  in  many  instances  in  connection  with  the  copper  and 
iron  and  often  in  considerable  amounts  ; gold  is  not  so  usual, 
however,  and  is  rarely  high  in  value,  although  in  this  district  some 
veins  have  been  discovered  of  what  may  be  fairly  considered  true 
gold  ore ; this  gold  ore  is  claimed  to  be  free-milling,  although 
the  properties  have  never  been  worked.  Index  is,  therefore,  to 
be  properly  considered  a copper  mining  district,  and  as  such  it 
is,  and  always  has  been,  exploited. 

Ethel* — By  reason  of  its  great  activity  during  the  past  season, 
that  of  1901,  and  the  amount  of  surface  development  accom- 


78  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


plished,  the  property  of  the  Ethel  Copper  Mining  Company 
should  probably  receive  first  mention  in  this  district.  Mr.  G. 
A.  Pounder,  Seattle,  Washington,  is  president  of  the  company, 
and  Mr.  G.  C.  Clark,  Everett,  is  superintendent.  The  property 
is  located  five  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  Index,  upon  Ex- 
celsior creek,  and  but  a few  hundred  feet  above  the  junction  of 
the  latter  stream  with  the  Skykomish.  It  is  reached  from  the 
main  county  wagon  road  extending  from  Index  to  Galena,  by 
its  own  wagon  road,  built  mainly  of  puncheons ; this  road,  which 
was  built  during  the  fall  of  1900,  at  a cost  of  $ 2,000 , is  2,500 
feet  long,  and  has  an  average  and  fairly  uniform  grade  of  10  per 
cent.  This  road  is  built  up  to  the  headquarters  camp,  at  which 
point  a concentrating  mill  has  just  been  erected,  with  a capacity 
of  100  tons  per  month.  The  mine  property  comprises  a group 
of  eight  claims,  five  of  which  are  at  present  being  operated  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent.  The  principal  mine  workings  are  located 
about  2,600  feet  northwest  of  the  millsite,  or  headquarters  camp, 
and  at  an  elevation  of  600  feet  above  the  same,  and  a surface 
tramway,  part  of  which  will  operate  by  gravity,  was  built  at  the 
same  time  as  the  mill,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  down  the  ore. 
The  mine  was  opened  in  October,  1899,  since  which  time  a con- 
siderable amount  of  development  has  been  done,  the  ore-body 
having  been  blocked  out  so  that  stoping  could  begin  with  the 
completion  of  the  mill.  Two  main  tunnels  have  been  driven 
175  feet  apart  vertically,  to  reach  the  vein  ; the  lower  tunnel  is 
460  feet  in  length,  and  from  it  something  over  250  feet  of  drift- 
ing has  been  done  upon  the  vein  ; a raise  has  also  been  pushed 
up  from  this  drift,  a distance  of  75  feet ; the  upper  tunnel 
reaches  the  vein  at  a point  213  feet  from  the  surface,  and  from 
this  tunnel  drifting  has  been  carried  in  both  directions,  aggre- 
gating 500  feet,  with  a rise  80  feet  in  height.  Besides  these 
two  principal  openings,  about  600  feet  of  cross  cuts  have  opened 
up  the  vein  at  a number  of  points.  The  main  ore-body,  so  far 
as  is  shown  by  the  developments  to  date,  appears  somewhat  len- 
ticular in  shape,  with  an  average  width  of  about  six  feet.  It  is 
apparently  a fissure  vein,  and  strikes  east  and  west  with  a verti- 
cal dip.  The  country  rock  is  granite.  The  ore  is  chalcopyrite, 
bornite,  and  chalcocite  (copper  glance),  the  bornite  being  con- 
siderably in  excess,  particularly  in  the  lower  levels,  or  as  depth 
is  reached.  The  average  copper  contents  of  all  ore  mined  are 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


79 


about  4 per  cent.,  and  it  has  been  found  thus  far  that  silver  oc- 
curs in  amounts  averaging  two  ounces  to  each  per  cent,  of  cop- 
per in  the  ore.  The  gangue  matter  is  essentially  quartz,  but  at 
some  points  small  amounts  of  calcite  are  found  included  in  the 
vein  matter.  The  elevation  of  the  upper  tunnel  is  1,840  feet 
above  sea  level.  During  the  summer  of  1901,  when  a large 
amount  of  work  was  done  in  surface  improvements  and  develop- 
ments, about  forty-five  men  were  employed,  of  which  number 
ten  were  working  underground.  The  surface  plant  at  the  head- 
quarters camp  includes,  besides  the  concentrating  mill,  a small  air 
compressor,  a very  complete  saw  mill,  and  the  necessary  build- 
ings for  the  accommodation  of  the  men.  It  is  estimated  that 
about  5,000  tons  of  milling  ore  are  now  upon  the  dump,  but  no 
ore  has  at  this  date,  August,  1901,  been  shipped. 

Sunset* — The  Sunset  mine,  owned  and  operated  by  the  Sun- 
set Copper  Mining  Company,  is  located  about  six  miles  north- 
east of  Index  on  Trout  creek.  The  property  is  reached  from 
Index  as  follows:  From  a point  immediately  above  the  town,  on 
the  north  fork  of  the  Skykomish,  the  company  has  built  a sur- 
face tram  which  follows  up  the  river,  along  its  east  bank,  four 
and  nine-tenths  miles,  to  the  mouth  of  Trout  creek;  thence, 
crossing  Trout  creek  a gravity  surface  tram,  1,300  feet  long, 
runs  up  the  side  of  the  mountain;  thence,  a further  surface  tram, 
one  mile  long,  leads  to  the  mine.  The  property  comprises  eight 
claims,  located  upon  three  parallel  ledges,  which  strike  east  and 
west,  and  dip  steeply  to  the  north.  Up  to  the  present  time, 
only  one  of  the  three  ledges  has  been  developed  to  any  extent. 
This  ledge,  which  cuts  the  granite  formation,  varies  in  width 
from  3)4  to  16  feet,  but  no  figures  of  average  width  could  be 
gained.  It  has  been  found  that  the  percentage  in  copper  con- 
tents is  greatest  in  the  swells  or  lenses.  The  ore  is  essentially 
chalcopyrite  and  bornite,  the  chalcopyrite  only  appearing  upon 
the  outcrop  and  in  the  workings  near  the  surface,  the  bornite 
coming  into  evidence  as  greater  depth  is  reached;  the  ore  car- 
ries varying  amounts  of  gold  and  silver,  the  percentage  of  gold 
being  greater  in  the  chalcopyrite,  and  that  of  silver  in  the  born- 
ite, rather  a remarkable  fact.  The  gangue  matter  is  mostly 
quartz,  showing  some  decomposition  on  the  outcrop,  but  becom- 
ing very  solid  as  depth  is  gained.  The  main  tunnel,  which  is 
located  at  an  elevation  of  1,450  feet  above  sea  level,  struck  the 


80 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


vein  at  a depth  of  200  feet,  and  from  that  point  drifting  was 
carried  in  both  directions,  aggregating  about  500  feet,  and  a rise 
was  made  to  the  surface.  From  these  workings  about  150  tons 
of  selected  ore  were  shipped  to  the  smelter  during  the  summer 
of  1899.  Besides  the  main  opening  just  described,  a number  of 
short  crosscuts,  all  at  higher  levels,  have  been  made  to  the  vein, 
besides  some  small  open  cuts. 

Copper  Bell* — This  property,  owned  by  the  Bunker  Hill  and 
Sullivan  Mining  Company,  is  located  five  miles  northwest  of 
Index,  and  one-half  mile  from  the  Great  Northern  Railway.  It 
consists  of  nine  claims,  of  which  but  two,  the  Copper  Bell  and 
the  Jumbo,  have  been  developed.  The  two  ledges  represented 
by  the  developed  claims  lie  parallel  with  a strike  of  north  fifty- 
five  degrees  east.  The  angle  of  dip  has  not  as  yet  been  determ- 
ined since  no  distinct  walls  have  been  found  up  to  the  present 
time,  and  development  work  has  not  as  yet  been  pushed  far 
enough  in  depth  for  any  accurate  measurements  to  be  made. 
Copper  occurs  in  both  ledges  in  the  form  of  chalcopyrite,  which 
is  stated  by  Mr.  Eckerson,  the  superintendent,  to  average,  so 
far,  8 per  cent,  in  copper  with  $2  in  silver  to  the  ton,  and  a trace 
of  gold. 

The  total  underground  development  to  date  is  about  1,000 
feet,  most  of  this  work  having  been  done  upon  the  Copper  Bell 
claim.  The  work  upon  the  Jumbo  claim,  up  to  August,  1901, 
consisted  of  90  feet  of  tunnel,  35  feet  of  crosscut  and  20  feet  of 
shaft.  A four-drill,  steam-driven,  Leyner  compressor  was  in- 
stalled at  the  Copper  Bell  mine  in  the  autumn  of  1901,  and  at 
that  time  the  intention  was  to  push  development  work  as  rap- 
idly as  possible. 

Index. — The  property  of  the  Index  Mining  Company,  of 
which  Mr.  Lot  Wilbur,  of  Snohomish,  Washington,  is  president 
and  general  manager,  consists  of  five  claims  located  about  two 
miles  southeast  of  Index,  and  south  of  the  Skykomish  river. 
The  mine  is  reached  by  a trail  built  by  the  company  from  a 
point  upon  the  Great  Northern  Railway  about  one  and  one-half 
miles  east  of  Index.  This  trail  is  something  over  a half  a mile 
in  length,  and  crosses  the  south  fork  of  the  Skykomish  river  by 
a suspension  bridge,  also  built  by  the  company.  The  five  claims 
owned  by  the  company  are  located  upon  three  distinct  ledges, 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


81 


only  one  of  which  has  been  developed  thus  far.  This  ledge 
strikes  northeast  and  southwest,  and  dips  about  one  in  three  to 
the  northwest.  It  averages  about  three  feet  in  width,  and  al- 
though all  of  the  vein  matter  contains  some  metallic  contents, 
considerable  concentration  of  the  ore  is  found  along  both  walls, 
forming  two  distinct  pay  streaks.  The  hanging-wall  of  the  ledge 
is  remarkably  distinct  and  regular,  and  parts  readily  from  the 
vein  matter.  The  ore  consists  of  bornite  and  chalcocite  (copper 
glance),  the  latter  occurring  in  greater  amounts  as  depth  is 
reached. 

The  development  work,  up  to  August,  1901,  consisted  of 
three  drifts,  the  lowest  having  been  driven  535  feet,  with  a shaft 
70  feet  deep,  located  about  160  feet  from  the  portal;  the  second 
drift,  180  feet  (vertically)  above  the  first  was  180  feet  long,  and 
from  this  opening  a 35-foot  raise  has  been  made,  80  feet  from  the 
portal ; the  upper  drift,  200  feet  above  the  second,  was  243  feet 
in  length.  Four  car  loads  of  ore  have  been  shipped  from  these 
workings,  and  at  the  above  date  a considerable  amount  of  very 
high  grade  ore,  in  sacks,  was  stored  at  the  mine.  No  work  was 
done  during  the  summer  of  1901.  The  only  surface  buildings 
consist  of  a small  bunk-house,  blacksmith  shop  and  sorting 
shed. 

Index-Bornite* — The  Index-Bornite  Copper  Mining  Company 
owns  two  claims,  the  Barry  and  the  Hillside,  located  two  and 
one-half  miles  east  of  Index.  These  claims  are  both  upon  one 
two-foot  ledge,  carrying  bornite.  The  development  work  begun 
in  June,  1899,  consists  of  a 50-foot  tunnel  and  a shaft  70  feet 
deep,  and  is  stated  to  have  cost  together  with  some  surface 
work,  about  $1,500.  Surveys  have  recently  been  made  for  a 
second  tunnel,  to  tap  the  ledge  at  a depth  of  200  feet.  The  ore, 
besides  its  copper  contents,  also  carries  some  silver,  three  assays 
made  by  Mr.  C.  R.  Redding,  of  Index,  showing  6.2,  3.8  and  8.6 
ounces  respectively  of  silver  per  ton ; copper  assays  upon  the 
same  samples  showing  16. 1,  11.1  and  58.9  per  cent,  respectively. 

Index-Independent*  — The  Index-Independent  Mining  com- 
pany owns  three  claims  about  five  miles  southeast  of  Index.  The 
property  lies  about  one  mile  south  of  the  railroad,  from  which  it 
is  reached  by  trail.  The  three  claims,  the  Independent,  Copper 
King,  and  Defiance,  are  all  located  upon  the  same  vein,  which 


6— II 


82  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 

strikes  north  six  degrees  east  and  stands  nearly  vertical.  Up  to 
the  present  time  the  only  claim  developed  is  the  Independent, 
upon  which  about  900  feet  of  tunneling,  drifting  and  cross-cut- 
ing  has  been  done.  The  ore  consists  of  chalcopyrite,  bornite, 
and  chalcocite  (copper  glance),  bornite  being  in  excess;  the 
gangue  is  mostly  quartz,  although  some  calcite  is  found  in  places.. 
The  country  rock  is  granite.  One  carload  of  ore,  whose  assay 
value  was  $98.98  per  ton  has  been  shipped.  (Ben.  Evans, 
Index.) 

Gunn's  Peak*  — Three  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  Index 
lies  the  Gunn’s  Peak  property,  consisting  of  four  claims,  owned 
by  the  Gunn’s  Peak  Copper  Mining  company.  These  claims  are 
located  upon  three  ledges  of  chalcopyrite,  which  intersect  at  a 
point  about  100  feet  ahead  of  the  tunnel  now  being  driven.  The 
main  ledge,  called  the  Rainbow,  runs  northeast  and  southwest, 
and  shows  a width  varying  from  one  to  thirty  feet  on  the  outcrop, 
which  has  been  uncovered  at  points  for  a distance  of  1,500  feet. 
The  total  development  to  date  consists  of  about  350  feet  of  tun- 
neling, and  100  feet  of  cross-cuts.  Average  samples  are  stated 
to  assay  as  follows:  Copper,  11.4.  per  cent.;  silver,  $1.92; 

gold,  trace.  The  mine  was  opened  in  July,  1899,  and  the  cost  of 
all  development  work  done  both  underground  and  on  the  surface 
s estimated  at  $7,000. 

Other  properties  in  the  Index  district  which  are  sufficiently 
promising  to  deserve  special  mention  are  the  North  Star,  owned 
by  the  North  Star  Mining  company;  the  Forty-seven,  owned  and 
managed  by  Mr.  H.  McKinnon,  Index ; the  Kitanning  Copper 
Mining  Company,  Mr.  W.  C.  Rutter,  Index,  superintendent;  the 
Climax,  Copper  King,  Nonpareil,  Trident,  and  Mammoth. 


KING  COUNTY* 


The  broad  mineral  belt  in  which  are  located  the  mines  of 
Monte  Cristo,  Silverton,  and  Index  extends  southward  into  the 
eastern  part  of  King  county.  Most  of  the  active  development 
work  in  this  county  has  been  done  in  the  territory  tributary  to 
the  line  of  the  Great  Northern  railway,  on  the  streams  flowing 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


83 


northward  into  the  south  fork  of  the  Skykomish  river.  Salmon 
creek,  Money  creek,  Miller  river  and  Foss  river  are  the  principal 
tributaries  on  which  active  operations  have  been  carried  on,  while 
to  the  southward  across  the  divides  from  the  headwaters  of  those 
streams,  many  claims  have  been  located  on  territory  which  is 
drained  by  Tolt  river  and  the  various  branches  of  the  Snoqual- 
mie.  The  general  physical  features  are  much  the  same  through- 
out the  district.  Except  along  some  of  the  larger  river  valleys 
the  topography  is  extremely  rugged.  Bordering  the  streams 
sharp  granite  peaks  rise  to  a height  of  from  6,000  to  8,000  feet 
above  the  sea,  their  higher  and  steeper  slopes  more  or  less  desti- 
tute of  timber  on  account  of  the  frequent  and  destructive  snow- 
slides  of  winter  and  early  spring.  The  vein  matter  is  usually  of 
a softer  nature  than  the  surrounding  country  rock  and  for  this 
reason  many  of  the  small  lateral  streams  have  chosen  the  veins 
for  their  channels.  This  has  simplified  the  process  of  prospect- 
ing very  greatly  and  therefore  has  been  a factor  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  district.  The  prevailing  country  rock  is  granite,  or 
closely  allied  rock,  with  a ramifying  system  of  dykes  of  many 
varieties. 

In  the  Miller  river  district  it  has  been  observed  that  the  main 
joint  plains  have  an  approximate  east  and  west  direction  and 
cross  the  main  stream  almost  at  right  angles.  In  many  of  the 
prospects  which  have  been  opened  up  it  is  found  that  the  ore  has 
been  deposited  along  these  joint  planes.  The  granite  for  some 
distance  on  each  side  of  the  vein  frequently  has  some  of  its 
minerals  replaced  by  ore  so  that  it  is  often  difficult  to  locate  the 
exact  contact  between  the  vein  and  the  wall  rock.  It  often  hap- 
pens that  parallel  joints  filled  with  ore  are  connected  with  each 
other  by  joints  running  at  right  angles  to  the  main  joints,  thus 
making  it  very  difficult  to  follow  the  main  ore  body.  Many  of 
the  veins  are,  in  part  at  least,  replacement  veins ; that  is,  the 
ore,  besides  filling  the  previously  existing  fissures,  has  also  more 
or  less  impregnated  the  wall  rock  on  both  sides  of  the  vein.  This 
is  usually  the  case  where  the  ore  body  is  found  to  be  more  than 
a few  feet  wide. 

Surface  prospecting,  in  the  higher  parts  of  the  district,  is 
practically  confined  to  the  summer  months  on  account  of  the 
deep  snows  of  winter.  The  country  is  well  watered ; innumera- 
ble little  rivulets  fed  by  the  snows  and  rain  come  trickling  down 


84  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


the  mountain  sides  and  unite  to  form  torrential  streams  whose 
potential  water  power  is  one  of  the  great  resources  of  the  district. 
This  power  can  be  harnessed  at  comparatively  little  expense,  and 
it  is  a foregone  conclusion  that  all  the  power  employed  for  hoist- 
ing, lighting,  and  other  purposes  in  the  mines  of  this  region  will 
be  furnished  by  the  streams.  Some  of  the  mining  companies 
have  already  made  elaborate  plans  for  utilizing  the  water  power. 

Below  will  be  given  brief  descriptions  of  a few  of  the  repre- 
sentative mining  properties  of  that  portion  of  King  county  that 
has  just  been  described. 

Great  Republic* — The  Great  Republic  Gold  Mining  Company 
has  a group  of  ten  claims  on  Miller  river,  about  one  and  one- 
fourth  miles  from  the  town  of  Berlin,  on  the  Great  Northern 
Railway.  The  company  has  done  about  1,100  feet  of  tunnel 
work  on  the  claims  and  a considerable  quantity  of  ore  has  been 
taken  out.  The  principal  values  are  in  antimony,  with  small 
amounts  of  gold  and  silver.  A five  stamp  concentrator  has  been 
installed  at  the  town  of  Berlin  for  treating  the  ore. 

Mono* — On  the  east  side  of  Miller  river,  about  two  and  one- 
half  miles  north  of  the  town  of  Berlin,  on  the  Great  Northern 
Railway,  is  located  the  Mono  group  of  eight  claims  belonging  to 
the  Co-operative  Mining  Syndicate,  of  Seattle.  There  is  a good 
wagon  road  for  about  a mile,  and  a trail  from  this  point  to  the 
claims.  In  the  development  of  the  property  an  upper  tunnel  has 
been  driven  for  80  feet,  from  it  a drift  go  feet  long  has  been 
made,  and  a winze  52  feet  deep  has  been  sunk.  A second  tun- 
nel 140  feet  lower  down  has  been  driven  for  a distance  of  250 
feet.  Still  lower  down  on  the  mountain  side  a tunnel  has  been 
driven  716  feet  long,  but  the  ore  body  has  not  been  reached. 
Assays  give  an  average  value  of  about  4 per  cent,  copper,  $1.25 
in  gold  and  $1.75  in  silver  per  ton.  The  chief  minerals  are  chal- 
copyrite  and  arsenopyrite. 

Metropolitan. — The  Metropolitan  property  is  on  the  west  side 
of  Miller  river,  about  nine  miles  from  the  Great  Northern  Rail- 
way at  Berlin,  and  joins  the  Cleopatra  property.  Active  devel- 
opment was  only  begun  in  August,  1901,  and  up  to  date  this  has 
cost  about  $2,000.  The  vein  is  about  16  feet  wide  at  its  maxi- 
mum. The  chief  values  are  in  gold  and  silver.  (H.  J.  McIntosh, 
superintendent.) 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


85 


Apex* — At  the  head  of  the  west  fork  of  Money  creek,  about 
eight  miles  southwest  of  Skykomish,  and  six  miles  from  the 
nearest  point  on  the  Great  Northern  Railroad,  is  situated  the 
Apex  mine,  upon  which  considerable  work  has  been  done.  The 
vein  averages  about  four  feet  in  width  and  dips  about  22  degrees 
to  the  southeast.  The  average  assay  value  is  about  $35  in  gold 
and  #15  in  silver  and  lead.  The  principal  mineral  is  arseno- 
pyrite. 

This  property  was  first  opened  in  1893,  and  up  to  the  present 
time  development  work  aggregating  a cost  of  $15,000  has  been 
done.  Tunnels  of  a total  length  of  1,800  feet  have  been  driven, 
with  about  60  feet  of  stopes.  The  ore  was  carried  out  to  the 
railway  by  means  of  pack  animals.  The  smelter  returns  on  the 
300  tons  of  ore  which  have  been  shipped  aggregate  $15,000. 
Water  power  is  used  to  operate  the  ventilating  fan  which  is  used 
in  the  longest  tunnel.  (John  Maloney,  Skykomish.) 

Yellow  Jacket* — The  Yellow  Jacket  group  of  ten  claims  is 
located  on  the  west  side  of  the  east  fork  of  Salmon  or  Roaring 
creek,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  pass  leading  into  the  Golden 
Tunnel  basin.  It  is  about  three  and  one-half  miles  from  Baring 
station  on  the  Great  Northern  Railway.  There  is  a good  wagon 
road  for  about  one-third  of  this  distance  and  the  rest  of  the  way 
is  by  a trail.  Development  work  was  begun  on  the  property  in 
June,  1900,  and  up  to  the  present  time  about  $9,000  has  been 
expended.  The  amount  of  underground  workings,  including 
tunnels  and  crosscuts,  is  approximately  540  feet.  A tunnel  has 
been  run  along  the  hanging  wall,  and  crosscuts  made  every  100 
feet.  The  vein  upon  which  the  work  has  been  done  has  a strike 
that  is  nearly  east  and  west  and  a dip  southward  at  an  angle  of 
about  60  degrees.  The  average  assay  value  or  the  ore  is  about 
$16,  nearly  all  gold,  but  with  a trace  of  silver.  It  is  in  part 
free  milling,  but  thete  is  some  sulphide  ore  present. 

Climax*  — The  Climax  property  is  about  four  and  one-half 
miles  southwest  of  Baring,  on  the  Great  Northern  Railway,  and 
is  located  on  the  south  end  of  Little  Index  mountain.  There 
are  eight  claims  in  the  group.  About  200  feet  of  tunnel  has 
been  driven  and  a large  number  of  surface  cross-cuts  made.  The 
principal  minerals  are  bornite  and  chalcopyrite,  carrying  silver 
and  copper.  The  property  was  first  opened  in  1897,  and  since 


86 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


that  time  about  $4,900  has  been  expended  in  development  work. 
No  regular  shipments  have  yet  been  made,  but  about  ten  tons  of 
ore  have  been  packed  out  in  order  to  make  a smelter  test.  This 
ore  assayed  from  $50  to  $100  per  ton. 

Carmack* — The  Carmack  Gold  and  Copper  Mining  Company 
has  a group  of  five  claims  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Snoqualmie 
river,  about  22  miles  southeast  of  the  town  of  North  Bend,  near 
the  point  where  the  wagon  road  over  Snoqualmie  pass  crosses 
the  south  fork.  This  property  was  opened  up  in  1899  and  up  to 
the  present  time  the  company  has  expended  about  $15,000  in 
development  work.  About  $3,500  of  this  has  been  used  for 
hoisting  machinery,  buildings  and  other  surface  improvements. 
They  have  driven  375  feet  of  tunnel  and  shafts.  Three  veins 
have  been  worked,  the  first  12  feet  in  width,  the  second  two  and 
one-half  and  the  third  one  foot.  Up  to  date  about  20  tons  of  ore 
have  been  shipped,  having  a total  value  of  $1,200.  The  values 
are  in  gold,  silver  and  lead. 

Dutch  Miller* — The  Dutch  Miller  property  is  situated  a very 
short  distance  west  of  the  main  divide  of  the  Cascades.  From 
it  the  drainage  is  westward  to  the  middle  fork  of  the  Snoqualmie, 
and  northward  to  Foss  river,  a tributary  of  the  Skykomish.  The 
outcrop  upon  which  the  location  was  made  in  1896  stands  at  an 
elevation  of  a little  less  than  5,700  feet  above  sea,  and  at  a dis- 
tance of  about  eight  miles  from  the  Great  Northern  Railway  at 
Foss  river  crossing.  The  ore  vein  has  a maximum  width  of 
eighteen  and  one-half  feet,  and  strike  of  north  70  degrees  west. 
The  principal  mineral  is  chalcopyrite,  and  the  principal  values 
are  in  copper  and  gold.  Several  small  shipments  of  ore  have 
been  made  to  a smelter,  the  returns  averaging  $37.65  per  ton 
after  the  smelter  charges  were  paid.  The  development  work 
done  consists  of  a shaft,  a tunnel,  and  a considerable  amount  of 
open  or  quarry  work  upon  the  main  ore  body.  The  cost  of  all 
improvements  made  upon  the  property  approximates  $14,700. 
( H.  P.  Fogh,  president,  Seattle.) 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


87 


KITTITAS  COUNTY. 


The  southeastern  half  of  Kittitas  county  lies  within  the  do- 
main .of  the  Columbia  lava,  which  does  not  contain  as  far  as 
known  any  metalliferous  deposits.  On  the  other  hand  the  north- 
western half  of  the  county,  composed  of  the  typical  rock  forma- 
tions of  the  northern  Cascades,  has  within  it  at  several  places 
important  ledges  of  ore.  These  are  found  more  especially  to  the 
southward  and  westward  of  Mt.  Stuart.  On  Clealum  creek 
and  its  several  branches  the  ore  veins  are  easy  of  access  and 
many  of  them  have  reached  a fair  stage  of  development.  In  re- 
gard to  the  mining  properties  of  this  region  sufficient  data  is  at 
hand  for  a description  of  the  iron  ores  only,  which  is  given  in 
another  section  of  this  report.  Along  Swauk  creek,  in  about  the 
central  part  of  the  county,  the  most  important  placer  gold  de- 
posits of  the  state  occur,  as  far  as  known,  and  a brief  description 
of  these  will  now  be  given. 

SWAUK  DISTRICT. 

As  early  as  1867  placer  gold  was  discovered  on  Swauk  creek 
in  the  vicinity  of  Liberty,  and  the  region  has  been  a good  pro- 
ducer ever  since,  but  like  all  old  placer  camps,  in  its  history  it 
has  suffered  a series  of  fluctuations.  The  earlier  methods  of 
working  the  pay  gravel  were  more  or  less  wasteful  and  inefficient 
and  as  newer  and  more  economical  methods  are  being  introduced 
it  is  found  that  ground  can  now  be  made  to  pay  which  formerly 
had  to  be  passed  over.  The  gold  is  found  in  the  Pleistocene 
gravels  which  constitute  the  floor  of  the  valley,  and  which  occur 
also  as  terraces  at  varying  altitudes  above  the  present  stream 
level.  The  country  rock  is  sandstone  and  shale  of  early  Tertiary 
age,  cut  by  a large  number  of  basaltic  dikes.  Along  the  contacts 
between  the  dike  walls  and  the  sandstone  are  many  brecciated 
veins  from  two  to  six  feet  wide  carrying  free  gold  in  a gangue  of 
quartz  and  calcite.  These  veins  have  been  worked  to  a consid- 
erable extent  and  are  usually  considered  as  the  origin  of  the 
placer  gold  now  found  along  the  streams.  Good  pay  gravel  has 
been  found  on  Swauk  creek  between  the  mouth  of  Baker  creek 
and  the  mouth  of  First  creek.  Below  First  creek  fine  gold  in 


88  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 

small  quantities  has  been  found  all  the  way  down  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Swauk,  and  recent  discoveries  of  pay  gravel  in  the  vicinity 
of  Thorp  would  seem  to  inspire  the  hope  that  good  pay  may  be 
found  farther  down  the  Swauk  than  has  yet  been  thought  possi- 
ble. A considerable  amount  of  gold  has  been  taken  out  of  Wil- 
liams creek,  which  enters  the  Swauk  at  Liberty.  All  the  good 
pay  gravel  is  found  within  three  or  four  feet  of  bed  rock  and 
about  seventy  or  eighty  feet  below  the  present  level  of  the  stream. 

The  largest  nugget  yet  found  in  the  district  was  found  within 
the  last  year  on  the  Elliott  claim,  on  Williams  creek,  and  had  a 
value  of  $1,100.  Another  nugget,  $1,004  m value,  was  found  on 
a bench  of  Swauk  creek  above  the  mouth  of  Baker.  Fine  gold 
may  be  had  by  panning  almost  anywhere  from  the  surface  down- 
wards, but  not  in  sufficient  quantities  to  pay  with  the  present 
methods  of  working.  Owing  to  an  insufficient  supply  of  water 
in  the  streams  sluicing  and  hydraulicking  can  only  be  carried  on 
during  the  short  seasons  of  high  water  in  fall  and  spring.  Along 
Swauk  creek  good  pay  gravel  has  been  found  on  bed  rock  along 
the  terraces  bordering  the  stream,  which  are  sometimes  above 
the  level  of  the  present  stream  bed.  On  Williams  creek  and  its 
tributaries  shafts  must  be  sunk  seventy  or  eighty  feet  to  bed 
rock  on  the  old  channels  and  the  gravel  hoisted  to  the  surface 
to  be  washed.  Considerable  water  has  been  encountered  in 
these  workings,  sometimes  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  an 
entire  suspension  of  operations. 

The  gold  found  in  the  stream  gravels  is  all  more  or  less 
waterworn.  Along  the  talus  slopes  bordering  . some  of  the 
creeks  and  gulches  fine  wire  and  crystal  gold  has  been  found  in 
paying  quantities.  The  gold  of  Williams  creek  and  its  tribu- 
taries is  supposed  to  have  come  from  the  western  slopes  of  Table 
mountain,  where  these  streams  have  their  source.  On  Baker 
creek  and  on  Swauk,  above  the  mouth  of  Williams,  the  gold  is 
probably  derived  from  the  Teanaway  range  on  the  west.  The 
Williams  creek  gold  is  worth  more  per  ounce  than  is  that  of 
Swauk  above  the  mouth  of  Williams,  owing  to  its  smaller  per- 
centage of  silver.  The  Baker  creek  and  upper  Swauk  gold  is 
worth  about  $13.50  per  ounce,  while  that  on  Williams  creek 
and  its  tributaries  is  worth  $14.50  to  $15  per  ounce. 

It  is  not  possible  to  form  even  an  estimate  of  the  total  output 
of  these  placers.  The  early  workers  did  not  keep  any  accurate 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


89 


record  of  their  output,  and  the  present  operators  are  keeping 
their  information  to  themselves.  At  the  present  time  there  are 
several  companies  and  individuals  at  work  on  Williams  creek 
and  its  tributaries  and  on  Swauk  creek.  Hydraulic  operations 
have  been  carried  on  for  several  years  with  varying  success. 
There  is  a very  large  amount  of  gravel  that  has  never  yet  been 
prospected  and  which  may  be  reasonably  supposed  to  contain 
some  good  pay  streaks,  so  that  for  a number  of  years  to  come 
we  may  look  for  a more  or  less  steady  output  from  this  district. 


PIERCE  COUNTY* 


The  coal  deposits  of  Pierce  county  have  been  known  for  many 
years,  and  the  coal  mines  have  now  reached  an  advanced  stage 
of  development,  contributing  very  greatly  to  the  wealth  and 
prosperity  of  the  county.  In  the  last  few  years  a vigorous 
search  has  been  made  for  metalliferous  deposits,  and  the  seek- 
ing has  not  been  wholly  in  vain.  A mineral  belt  has  been  dis- 
covered in  the  central  part  of  the  county,  having  a general  north 
and  south  course,  and  lying  between  the  coal-bearing  sandstones 
on  the  west  and  the  comparatively  recent  lava  flows  of  Mount 
Rainier  on  the  east.  This  belt  is  not  large,  but  at  different 
places  within  it  some  valuable  ledges  of  metallic  minerals  have 
been  found.  The  most  important  veins  of  ore  as  far  as  known 
occur  on  the  Carbon  river,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fairfax,  and 
this  district  will  now  be  described. 

CARBON  RIVER  DISTRICT. 

By  Wm.  S.  Thyng. 

The  Carbon  river  district  is  located  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  Pierce  county,  mostly  to  the  westward  and  northwestward  of 
Mount  Rainier,  many  of  the  properties  being  even  upon  the 
lower  slopes  of  that  mountain.  The  district  is  reached  from  the 
town  of  Fairfax,  the  terminal  of  one  of  the  Northern  Pacific  coal 
routes.  This  town,  which  is  located  to  the  west  of  the  principal 


90  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 

properties,  will  be  their  natural  shipping  point  when  the  mines 
begin  to  produce  ore.  Fairfax  is  forty-two  miles  from  Tacoma 
by  rail.  At  the  present  time  probably  the  most  important  prop- 
erties in  the  district  are  those  of  the  Washington  Co-operative 
Mining  Syndicate  and  of  the  Montezuma  Mining  Company. 
These  two  companies,  in  addition  to  their  copper  mining  inter- 
ests, are  at  present  developing  upon  a large  scale  some  extensive 
coal  deposits  at  Fairfax.  The  companies  are  operating  in  very 
dose  harmony  and  it  is  their  intention  to  carry  on  their  future 
mining  operations  in  the  district  in  conjunction. 

Surprise* — Probably  the  most  important  group  of  claims  in 
this  district  is  what  is  known  as  the  Surprise  group,  located  on 
the  east  slope  of  Bald  mountain,  on  Shiplake  creek,  ten  miles 
by  trail  northeast  of  Fairfax.  The  country,  as  might  be  expected 
in  that  locality,  is  extremely  rough,  the  steep  slopes  of  the 
mountain  side  giving  good  facilities  for  mining  operations,  it 
being  possible  to  attain  considerable  depth  without  sinking 
shafts  and  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  building  expensive  pumping 
plants.  Both  water  power  and  timber  are  practically  without 
limit.  The  Surprise  group  comprises  thirteen  claims,  twelve  of 
which  lie  on  a magnetic  east  and  west  line,  while  the  thirteenth 
claim,  known  as  the  Hog  Back,  located  near  the  center  of  the 
group,  lies  in  a north  and  south  direction.  All  of  the  develop- 
ment work  to  date  has  been  done  upon  the  Surprise  claim,  the 
most  southeasterly  one  of  the  group.  Upon  this  claim  three 
distinct  ledges  are  found.  The  development  aggregates  365  feet 
of  tunneling  and  drifting,  but  to  the  present  time  only  40  feet  of 
depth  has  been  reached  by  the  main  tunnel  or  drift.  The  com- 
pany owning  the  property  has  recently  acquired  a right  in  a 
tunnel  being  driven  by  the  Clipper  mine  at  a vertical  distance  of 
300  feet  below,  from  which  tunnel  it  is  proposed  to  run  a cross- 
cut 360  feet  to  the  main  Surprise  ledge.  By  the  use  of  this 
tunnel  a considerable  depth  of  ore  may  thus  be  obtained  and  the 
work  of  mining  considerably  facilitated.  The  ledges  on  the 
Surprise  claim  carry  both  chalcopyrite  and  bornite  and  with 
these  considerable  hornblende  is  associated.  The  main  ledge 
upon  which  all  of  the  work  has  been  done  to  date,  averages  be- 
tween four  and  five  feet  in  width,  with  a distinct  pay  streak  of 
22  inches ; its  dip  is  seventy  degrees  to  the  southward  and  very 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


91 


uniform.  The  vein  occupies  a true  fissure  in  a country  rock  of 
syenite,  the  gangue  matter  closely  resembling  this  country  rock. 

Upon  the  Hog  Back  claim  mentioned  above  as  the  only  one 
of  the  group  running  north  and  south,  three  distinct  ledges  are 
found,  with  chief  values  in  gold.  The  gold  is  associated,  how- 
ever, with  some  small  amounts  of  copper  and  iron,  chiefly  chal- 
copyrite.  The  elevation  of  the  main  tunnel,  at  what  is  called 
the  headquarters  camp,  is  4,160  feet  above  sea  level. 

During  the  summer  of  1901  a considerable  amount  of  devel- 
opment work  was  done  upon  this  property,  both  underground 
and  in  surface  improvements.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  owners 
to  begin  very  soon  the  operation  of  the  property  upon  a large 
scale.  A small  air  compressor  has  been  installed  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Clipper  tunnel  for  use  in  driving  the  above-mentioned 
crosscut  to  the  Surprise  ledge,  and  it  is  understood  that  consid- 
erable work  has  already  been  done  upon  this  crosscut. 

Clipper. — This  property  is  located  southeast  of  and  immedi- 
ately adjoining  the  Surprise  group.  Comparatively  little  work 
has  been  done  outside  of  the  main  tunnel  that  was  mentioned 
above.  Mr.  T.  H.  Wilkins,  address  Fidelity  building,  Tacoma, 
is  the  chief  owner  of  the  property. 

Chicago. — The  Chicago  group  of  six  claims,  owned  by  the 
Montezuma  Mining  Company,  is  located  about  nine  miles  from 
Fairfax  at  a short  distance  from  the  main  trail  leading  to  the 
Surprise  mine.  This  group  is  then  about  two  miles  east  of  the 
Surprise.  The  property  has  not  up  to  the  present  time  been 
developed,  nothing  beyond  assessment  work  having  been  done. 
The  ore  is  chalcopyrite,  carrying  some  small  amounts  of  gold 
and  occurs  in  a fissure  vein  in  diorite. 

East  Lake.— The  East  Lake  group  of  six  claims,  owned  by 
the  Washington  Co-operative  Mining  Syndicate,  is  another  prop- 
erty not  as  yet  developed.  This  group  is  located  about  one-half 
of  a mile  due  east  of  the  Surprise,  being  between  that  property 
and  the  Chicago.  A number  of  veins  are  found  here,  all  with  a 
general  eastward  strike.  The  ore  is  chalcopyrite,  and  the  coun- 
try rock  is  syenite. 

Blue  Star.— The  Blue  Star  group,  consisting  of  fourteen 
claims,  is  located  on  Cowcowan  creek,  a tributary  of  the  Carbon 


92 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


river,  and  is  six  and  one-half  miles  by  trail  from  Fairfax.  There 
are  nine  known  veins  or  ledges  running  through  these  claims, 
most  of  them  strong  and  well  defined  and  showing  at  the  out- 
crops widths  varying  from  eight  inches  to  eight  feet.  Most  of 
these  ledges  strike  east  and  west ; but  one  well-defined  vein  is 
found  running  almost  due  north  and  south.  The  ore  is  chalco- 
pyrite  of  good  appearance,  with  varying  values  in  both  gold  and 
silver.  The  country  rock  is  gneiss.  Comparatively  little  devel- 
opment work  has  as  yet  been  done  upon  this  property.  A tun- 
nel having  a length  of  about  40  feet  has  recently  been  driven, 
and  it  is  understood  that  the  present  owners  propose  immediate 
development  work. 

Tacoma.  — This  property  is  located  upon  the  Mowich  river, 
seventeen  miles,  by  pack  trail,  southeast  of  Fairfax.  Four  claims 
are  embraced  in  the  property,  owned  by  the  Washington  Co- 
operative Mining  Syndicate.  Adjoining  these  claims  the  Mon- 
tezuma Mining  Company  owns  a group  of  five  claims.  The 
country  is  heavily  timbered  and  is  provided  with  an  abundance 
of  water  power.  The  main  ledge,  upon  which  all  development 
work  to  date  has  been  done,  averages  25  feet  in  width.  It  strikes 
northeast  and  southwest  and  dips  eighty  degrees  to  the  southeast. 
The  outcrop  is  exceedingly  well  defined  upon  the  north  side  of 
the  Mowich  river,  the  mountain  rising  very  abruptly  from  the 
creek  bed,  with  practically  no  vegetation  upon  it.  The  ore  is 
chalcopyrite,  disseminated  throughout  the  ledge,  but  as  develop- 
ment has  progressed  a rich  streak  about  three  feet  in  thickness, 
consisting  of  chalcopyrite,  intimately  mixed  with  calcite,  is  found 
along  the  foot  wall.  The  property  was  first  opened  by  a drift, 
along  the  hanging  wall,  located  about  175  feet  above  the  bed  of 
the  creek.  This  drift  has  been  driven  for  200  feet  along  the 
vein,  with  five  cross-cuts  to  the  foot  wall  aggregating  100  feet  in 
length.  Late  in  the  summer  of  1901  the  company  installed  a 
small  air  compressor  and  is  now  engaged  in  driving  another  drift 
about  125  feet  below  the  first,  working  with  machine  drills.  The 
air  compressor  is  run  by  water  power.  The  ore  is  stated  to  con- 
tain from  five  to  thirty-three  per  cent,  in  copper,  with  $ 2 in  gold 
and  $3.50  in  silver  per  ton,  or  in  all  having  an  average  value  of 
$60  per  ton.  This  property  is  admirably  located  for  mining  work 
and  may  be  expected  to  give  a good  account  of  itself  in  the  near 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


93 


future.  No  ore  except  for  purposes  of  experimental  treatment 
has  as  yet  been  shipped. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  Washington  Co-operative  Mining 
Syndicate  to  erect  a smelter  adjoining  its  coal  property  at  Fair- 
fax. The  company  will  then  be  practically  self-contained  and  in 
a position  to  smelt  its  own  ore  as  well  as  those  of  the  other  prop- 
erties of  the  district.  If  the  calcite,  occuring  with  the  ores  along 
Mowich  river,  is  found  to  continue  in  depth,  it  will  be  of  great 
importance  in  forming  a flux  in  smelting. 


LEWIS  AND  SKAMANIA  COUNTIES. 


ST.  HELENS  DISTRICT. 

St.  Helens  mining  district  is  located  in  part  in  Lewis  county, 
but  the  main  portion  of  it  lies  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Ska- 
mania county,  north  of  Mount  St.  Helens.  Spirit  lake,  which 
marks  the  southern  boundary  of  the  district,  is  a body  of  water 
five  miles  long  by  one  or  two  miles  wide,  lying  about  six  miles 
north  of  the  summit  of  Mount  St.  Helens.  The  district  is  reached 
either  by  stage  road  from  Castle  Rock  to  Spirit  lake  by  way  of 
the  middle  fork  of  the  Toutle  river,  sometimes  known  as  Green 
river,  or  by  wagon  road  and  trail  from  Chehalis  by  way  of  the 
Cowlitz  and  Cispus  rivers.  There  is  another  trail  up  the  north 
fork  of  Toutle  river,  which  connects  with  the  wagon  road  at 
Olson.  The  district  is  situated  far  back  in  the  mountains,  but 
by  following  the  larger  valleys  no  very  heavy  grades  are  encoun- 
tered. The  topography  of  the  district  is  very  rugged,  resembling 
in  some  respects  a deeply  dissected  plateau.  Spirit  lake  lies 
at  an  elevation  of  3,100  feet  above  sea  level.  Mount  St.  Helens 
lies  immediately  to  the  southward,  while  to  the  northward  are  a 
number  of  peaks,  the  highest  one  of  which  is  6,300  feet. 

The  country  to  the  north  and  east  of  Spirit  lake  is  of  syenite. 
A large  number  of  porphyry  dikes  cut  through  the  syenite,  hav- 
ing a general  strike  of  north  25  to  30  degrees  west,  and  dipping 
westward  60  or  70  degrees.  To  the  northwestward  of  the 


94  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


syenite  belt  the  country  rock  is  mostly  quartzite,  more  or  less 
broken  up,  traversed  by  a series  of  veins  standing  almost  per- 
pendicular and  whose  general  strike  is  northeast  and  southwest. 
The  veins  of  the  district  are  often  of  great  width  and  carry  sul- 
phide ores,  mostly  of  copper  and  iron,  with  some  lead.  The}' 
are  true  fissure  veins  and  are  found  along  the  contact  between 
the  porphyry  dikes  and  the  country  rock.  They  can  often  be 
traced  for  considerable  distances. 

The  valleys  are  heavily  timbered  with  fir,  cedar,  yellow  pine, 
hemlock  and  larch.  Higher  up  on  the  mountain  sides  the  tim- 
ber gets  smaller  and  more  scarce  as  the  timber  line  is  ap- 
proached. Some  of  the  finest  timber  in  the  state  is  found  along 
the  north  fork  of  Toutle  river.  The  small  mountain  streams 
furnish  an  abundance  of  water-power,  which  some  of  the  mining 
companies  are  planning  to  utilize  as  soon  as  the  machinery  can 
be  gotten  in  place. 

Discoveries  of  metalliferous  deposits  in  the  district  were  first 
made  in  1891,  and  the  district  was  organized  on  September  22, 
1892.  It  was  first  known  as  the  Green  river  district,  but  owing 
to  confusion  arising  between  it  and  the  Green  river  coal  district 
of  King  county,  the  name  was  afterwards  regularly  changed  to 
the  St.  Helens  district. 

At  the  present  time  the  greatest  activity  in  the  Spirit  lake  re- 
gion is  in  the  mines  on  Paradise  creek,  formerly  known  as  Lake 
Canyon  creek.  There  are  several  groups  of  claims  belonging 
to  the  Mining  Corporation,  Limited,  of  Portland,  represented 
by  Dr.  Henry  W.  Coe.  They  are  pushing  development  work 
on  the  Sweden,  Bronze  Monarch,  Norway,  Young  America  and 
other  groups.  Winter  supplies  were  taken  in  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1901  in  order  that  work  might  be  actively  prosecuted 
during  the  following  winter. 

Sweden* — The  Sweden  group  embraces  eight  claims,  located 
at  the  mouth  of  Paradise  valley  on  the  north  shore  of  Spirit  lake 
and  six  miles  northwest  of  Mount  St.  Helens.  Besides  smaller 
veins  there  is  the  Paradise  lode  thirty-three  feet  in  width,  which 
has  been  traced  a distance  of  three  thousand  feet.  The  veins 
strike  north  fifteen  to  thirty  degrees  west,  and  dip  southwest 
about  seventy-five  degrees.  A tunnel  is  being  driven  along  the 
foot  wall  of  the  Paradise  lode,  and  at  latest  reports  had  reached 
a depth  of  fifty  feet.  The  ore  which  is  being  taken  out  of  the 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


95 


tunnel  averages  in  gold  $3.25,  silver  six  ounces,  copper  nine  per 
cent.  There  is  now  on  the  dump  four  hundred  tons  of  ore,  car- 
rying total  values  estimated  at  nine  thousand  dollars.  The 
company  is  now  installing  machinery  for  a large  water  power 
plant  which  when  completed  will  furnish  power  for  drilling, 
hauling,  lighting,  etc. 

Bronze  Monarch. — Adjoining  the  Sweden  group  on  the  north- 
west, and  upon  the  same  great  lead,  is  the  Bronze  Monarch 
group  upon  which  a tunnel  is  being  driven,  now  three  hundred 
feet  in  length.  There  are  now  about  one  thousand  tons  of  sul- 
phide ores  on  the  dump  ready  for  treatment  which  the  owners 
of  the  property  think  will  average  twenty-eight  dollars  per  ton 
in  gold,  silver  and  copper. 

Norway. — One  thousand  feet  farther  up  the  mountain  from 
the  Bronze  Monarch  another  tunnel  is  being  driven  on  the  same 
vein  on  the  Norway  group,  consisting  of  nine  claims.  The 
tunnel  is  now  in  a distance  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The 
ore  is  of  the  same  character  as  that  found  in  the  two  lower  tun- 
nels. The  vein  here  is  about  twenty-five  feet  in  width.  There 
is  about  one  thousand  tons  of  ore  on  the  dump  valued  at 
$28,000. 

Young  America. — The  Young  America  group  consists  of 
five  claims  adjoining  the  Norway  and  Bronze  Monarch  groups 
on  the  northeast.  The  vein  which  is  now  being  worked  shows 
in  the  bed  of  the  creek  a width  of  twelve  feet,  and  can  be  traced 
by  its  outcrop  for  more  than  two  thousand  feet.  A tunnel  fifty 
feet  long  has  been  driven  on  the  vein. 

The  Mining  Corporation,  Limited,  owns  other  claims  along 
the  lake  front  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  and  this  winter 
(190 1 -2)  are  building  boats  and  barges  on  the  lake  for  transpor- 
tation of  the  heavy  machinery  and  ores  during  the  summer  of 
1902. 

Chicago  and  Yellow  Metals.  — About  two  and  a half  miles 
northeast  of  the  lake  are  the  Chicago  and  the  Yellow  Metals 
groups,  also  belonging  to  Dr.  Coe  and  his  associates.  The  prop- 
erty is  reached  from  Spirit  lake  by  way  of  the  trail  over  Norway 
pass,  having  an  elevation  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  lake.  There  are  about  twenty  claims  in  the  two  groups, 
which  are  located  in  a general  way  upon  the  extension  of  the 


96 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


great  Norway-Sweden-Denmark  vein.  This  vein  has  been  iden- 
tified upon  the  two  Octavius  claims  at  the  southern  end  of  the 
group  near  the  bottom  of  the  valley  of  North  Toutle  river.  A 
tunnel  two  hundred  feet  long  has  been  driven  on  the  Chicago 
claim  and  a cross-cut  started  which  will  reach  the  vein  at  a depth 
of  six  hundred  feet.  The  vein  at  this  point  is  twenty-five  feet 
wide  and  carries  gold,  copper  and  silver  which  have  a maximum 
value  of  $60  per  ton. 

Samson, — The  Samson  group,  sometimes  known  as  the  Earl 
group,  consisting  of  twenty  claims,  lies  four  miles  northeast  of 
the  Chicago  and  Yellow  Metals  group,  at  the  base  of  Goat 
mountain  on  North  Toutle  river.  About  six  hundred  feet  of 
tunnel  has  been  driven  on  the  property  but  only  with  indifferent 
success.  It  has  now  been  taken  under  a working  arrangement 
by  the  Mining  Corporation,  Limited,  and  this  company  is  driv- 
ing a prospect  tunnel  to  crosscut  small  veins  which  outcrop 
along  Samson  creek.  At  the  base  of  the  mountain  below  the 
tunnel  there  is  a big  ledge  or  deposit  five  hundred  to  a thousand 
feet  wide,  all  mineralized,  but  of  very  low  grade,  averaging  not 
more  than  three  dollars  in  gold,  silver  and  copper. 

Index,  — Two  and  a half  miles  to  the  northwest  of  the  Chicago 
lies  the  Index  group,  which  has  been  owned  for  many  years  by 
the  Olson  Brothers,  but  who  have  recently  given  a two  years’ 
working  bond  upon  the  property  to  the  Mining  Corporation, 
Limited.  This  company  is  now  contracting  for  half  a mile  of 
tunnel  work  upon  this  and  their  other  properties  for  the  spring 
of  1902. 

Polar  Star, — The  Polar  Star  mine,  owned  by  the  Cascadia 
Mining  and  Development  Company,  is  located  two  and  a half 
miles  below  the  Samson  group  on  the  north  fork  of  Toutle 
river  near  Black  Falls.  A crosscut  tunnel  has  been  driven  a 
distance  of  eighty  feet,  revealing  a mineralized  ledge  twelve  feet 
wide  carrying  copper  and  iron  sulphides,  with  from  six  inches 
to  three  feet  of  solid  ore.  Seventy-five  feet  from  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel  a drift  has  been  run  eighty-four  feet  and  considerable 
ore  taken  out.  A shaft  has  also  been  sunk  to  a depth  of  thirty- 
five  feet. 

Juanita. — The  Juanita  property,  owned  by  Messrs.  U.  M. 
Lauman,  W.  A.  Reynolds,  and  David  Stewart,  is  located  about 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


97 


half  a mile  from  the  source  of  the  north  fork  of  Toutle  river. 
During  the  summer  of  1901  a tunnel  50  feet  long  was  driven. 
The  vein  is  six  and  a half  feet  wide,  and  carries  values  averag- 
ing  $37  in  gold  and  copper.  The  strike  of  the  ledge  is  about 
north  10  degrees  west.  About  $500  has  been  spent  in  develop- 
ment work. 

Washington* — This  property  is  situated  near  Norway  pass. 
It  has  upon  it  a well  defined  fissure  vein  which  makes  a good 
surface  showing.  The  vein  strikes  nearly  north  and  south  and 
dips  about  seventy-eight  degrees  to  the  westward.  A tunnel  50 
feet  long  has  been  driven  upon  the  ledge. 

Ripper  and  Chief* — The  Ripper  and  Chief  properties,  be- 
longing to  Messrs.  McClure  and  Hostetter  of  Agate,  Washing- 
ton, are  located  about  four  miles  northeast  of  Spirit  lake.  Both 
claims  are  on  the  same  lead,  which  is  about  four  feet  wide,  and 
which  carries  gold  and  copper  yielding  maximum  values  of 
about  sixty  dollars  per  ton.  The  chief  minerals  are  galena  and 
chalcopyrite.  About  one  thousand  dollars  has  been  spent  in  de- 
velopment work. 

7 — II 


98  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


REDUCTION  PLANTS  IN  WASHINGTON. 


By  Milnor  Roberts. 


Washington  produces  a great  variety  of  ores,  requiring  many 
kinds  of  treatment  to  extract  the  values,  thus  necessitating  re- 
duction plants  of  various  types.  Examples  of  nearly  every  stage 
of  development  in  the  industry  may  be  seen  in  the  state,  from 
the  pan,  cradle,  and  sluice  of  the  wandering  prospector,  to  the 
great  custom  smelters,  handling  hundreds  of  tons  of  ore  daily, 
with  a minimum  loss  of  the  metals. 

The  headings  under  which  the  reduction  plants  will  be  de- 
scribed are  as  follows: 

I.  Smelting  works. 

II.  Chlorination  and  cyanidation  plants. 

III.  Stamp  mills  (amalgamation.) 

IV.  Arrastras. 

V.  Concentrators  and  combination  plants. 

Although  no  attempt  is  made  to  enumerate  all  of  the  reduc- 
tion plants  in  the  state,  except  the  smelters,  the  following  pages 
contain  brief  descriptions  of  some  of  the  most  important  repre- 
sentatives of  the  classes  mentioned  above. 


L SMELTING  WORKS. 


THE  EVERETT  SMELTER. 

[The  Puget  Sound  Reduction  Company.] 

Everett,  “The  City  of  Smokestacks,”  owes  her  title  in  no 
small  measure  to  the  smelting  works  of  the  Puget  Sound  Reduc- 
tion Company,  which  are  situated  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city. 
Although  at  present  no  company  operating  in  the  Pacific  North- 
west is  fitted  to  undertake  the  work  of  tieating  crude  ores  to 
produce  refined  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  yet  the  Everett  smelter 
turns  out  these  three  metals  in  a condition  that  requires  only  a 


THE  E\  ERETT  SMELTER,  OWNED  BY  THE  PUGET  SOUND  REDUCTION  COMPANY. 


Washington  Geological  Survey. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


99 


short  final  process  — that  of  parting  the  dore  bars  and  electro- 
lytic refining  of  the  blister  copper  — to  put  all  in  shape  for  the 
market.  In  addition  to  this,  the  company  has  recently  built 
and  is  operating  the  only  arsenic  plant  in  the  United  States. 

Ores. — The  supply  of  ore  is  drawn  from  very  wide  sources  — 
from  Alaska,  South  America,  and  occasional  shipments  from  the 
Orient,  as  well  as  from  the  states  of  Montana,  Idaho,  Oregon, 
California,  Nevada,  and  British  Columbia.  This  company  holds 
contracts  for  the  output  of  some  of  the  most  important  produc- 
ing mines  in  the  State  of  Washington;  the  Cedar  Canyon  group, 
the  Forty-five,  and  the  Monte  Cristo.  Other  regular  shippers 
are  the  Rambler,  the  Hercules,  the  Bunker  Hill  and  Sullivan, 
and  the  North  Star.  The  latter  furnishes  thirty  car  loads  of  ore 
a month,  carrying  about  50  per  cent.  lead.  Occasionally  a ship- 
ment of  quite  rich  ore  or  concentrates  is  received,  a recent  ex- 
ample being  several  hundred  tons  of  four-hundred-dollar  ore 
from  the  Tonapah  Mining  Company,  in  Nevada. 

Sampling. — On  arrival,  the  ore  is  distributed,  the  oxidized 
ores  being  sampled  at  the  sampling  works,  while  the  roasting 
ores  are  crushed,  sampled  and  handled  at  the  sulphide  mill. 

Owing  to  the  wide  difference  in  the  character  of  ores  treated, 
the  system  of  hand  sampling  is  still  pursued.  Sampling  of  car 
load  lots  is  usually  done  by  taking  a tenth  or  a fifth  of  the  whole. 
This  sample  is  run  through  a Blake  crusher  and  a set  of  rolls, 
and  is  then  quartered  repeatedly  until  reduced  to  100  pounds. 
Such  a weight  can  be  conveniently  crushed  to  pea  size  in  rolls, 
and  further  reduced  by  quartering  to  three  or  four  pounds,  when 
it  is  dried,  ground  to  80  mesh  by  a small  gyratory  crusher,  and 
sent  to  the  assay  department.  When  a small  lot  of  ore  arrives, 
after  it  is  crushed,  every  tenth  shovelful  goes  to  the  rolls  for 
sampling. 

Roasting. — All  ores  which  contain  sulphur  in  excess  of  six 
per  cent,  are  roasted.  Mechanical  furnaces  are  used  exclusively, 
two  with  double  deck,  one  single  deck,  and  all  mechanically  fed. 
To  meet  the  requirements  of  an  increasing  business,  five  Bruck- 
ner roasting  cylinders  of  the  largest  size  are  being  installed  at 
present. 

Blast  Furnaces. — Two  blast  furnaces  are  of  large  size,  hav- 
ing an  area  of  36"  x 180"  between  tuyeres.  No.  1 has  20  tuyeres, 


1 00  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


with  a cold  blast  under  20  to  30  ounces  pressure  per  square  inch. 
Furnace  No.  3 has  an  area  of  42"  x 120".  This  is  now  used 
solely  for  the  purpose  of  making  50  per  cent,  copper  matte,  but 
is  about  to  be  replaced  by  a furnace  of  the  same  size  as  the  reg- 
ular ore  furnaces. 

Products. — The  base  bullion  from  the  blast  furnaces  in  the 
form  of  bars  weighing  approximately  100  pounds  each,  is  as- 
sayed for  gold  and  silver  and  sent  to  the  refining  department. 
About  500  bars  are  charged  at  one  time  into  a reverberatory: 
the  impurities,  — copper,  arsenic,  antimony,  etc.  — rise  to  the 
surface  of  the  molten  lead,  and  are  skimmed  off  from  time  to 
time  with  perforated  ladles.  These  skimmings  are  returned  to 
the  blast  furnace.  The  remainder  is  run  into  a circular  zincing 
kettle  7 feet  in  diameter  and  3}^  feet  deep,  capable  of  hold- 
ing 20  tons.  A fireplace  underneath,  with  blast  connections, 
serves  to  keep  the  temperature  of  the  lead  bath  just  above  the 
melting  point  of  zinc.  A weight  of  zinc  equal  to  three  times  the 
amount  of  silver  and  gold  present  in  the  lead,  is  now  added  in 
the  form  of  broad  flat  bars,  easily  melted.  Instead  of  the  cus- 
tomary three  zincings,  here  the  zinc  is  added  in  only  two  lots, 
and  is  mechanically  stirred  each  time  by  a steam-driven  pro- 
peller screw  with  four  blades,  revolving  about  200  times  per 
minute.  The  kettle  is  allowed  to  cool  down  to  a temper- 
ature just  above  the  melting  point  of  lead,  the  gold  and  silver 
contents  alloy  with  the  zinc,  which  being  lighter,  gradually  rises 
to  the  surface  of  the  lead  bath  and  is  skimmed  off.  The  process 
is  finished  when  cupellation  of  small  samples  of  the  lead  shows 
that  the  proportion  of  silver  remaining  is  less  than  .24  of  an 
ounce  per  ton. 

The  skimmings  of  zinc  containing  the  gold,  silver  and  a little 
lead,  are  charged  into  graphite  retorts,  along  with  powdered 
coke  as  a reducing  agent.  Crude  oil  is  being  burned  under 
these  retorts  at  the  present  time.  The  zinc  is  oxidized,  passes 
over  into  a condenser  and  is  there  reduced  to  metallic  zinc; 
this  is  tapped  out  from  time  to  time,  run  into  moulds,  and  sent 
back  to  the  zincing  kettle.  Five  or  six  hours  time  is  required 
for  retorting,  and  the  loss  of  zinc  in  the  whole  process  is  less 
than  25  per  cent.  The  resulting  rich  alloy  of  gold,  silver  and 
lead  goes  to  a small  concentrating  reverberatory,  one  bar  at  a 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


101 


time.  As  it  melts,  air  is  admitted  to  oxidize  the  lead  to  lith- 
arge, while  the  precious  metals  settle  in  the  bowl  of  the  furnace. 
The  alloy  is  dipped  out  and  run  into  bars  of  85  pounds  weight, 
containing  a very  small  amount  of  lead.  A tilting  furnace  is 
used  for  the  last  melting,  during  which  the  impurities  rise  to  the 
surface  and  are  drawn  off.  The  balance  is  shipped  in  the  form 
of  dore  bars  to  the  Seattle  Smelting  and  Refining  Company.  The 
dore  bars  are  .990  to  .995  fine  in  gold  and  silver;  by  the  process 
of  parting,  they  are  separated  into  fine  gold,  for  deposit  at  the 
United  States  assay  office  at  Seattle,  and  fine  silver,  which  is 
shipped  by  this  company  to  the  Orient  direct. 

The  lead  from  which  the  values  have  been  extracted  by  means 
of  zinc,  is  run  into  a lower  kettle  (similar  to  the  first),  where  it 
is  again  heated;  after  steam  has  been  passed  through  it,  slow 
cooling  follows.  A scum  forms  on  the  surface,  which  is  removed, 
and  the  soft  lead  is  run  into  200-pound  pigs,  commercially  pure. 
That  portion  made  from  imported  lead  ores  is  re-exported  to  the 
Orient,  especially  to  the  markets  of  Japan  and  China. 

Copper  matte,  from  the  blast  furnaces,  is  handled  by  the 
English  reverberatory  process,  and  the  product,  blister  copper, 
is  shipped  to  electrolytical  refineries  for  segregation.  After  the 
elimination  of  the  gold  and  silver  contents,  along  with  other  im- 
purities, the  refined  article  is  known  as  electrolytic  copper. 

The  production  of  commercial  arsenic  was  begun  in  the  year 
1901  and  is  now  a regular  branch  of  the  company’s  operations. 
Several  hundred  tons  have  been  produced  at  the  rate  of  about 
five  tons  per  day.  Volatilized  arsenic,  together  with  antimony, 
sulphur,  etc.,  from  the  roasting  of  Monte  Cristo  ore,  is  con- 
densed in  a series  of  chambers,  then  charged  with  one-fourth  its 
weight  of  very  pure  coke  into  a refining  reverberatory.  The  re- 
fined materia],  which  is  commercially  pure,  is  sold  and  known 
as  “Standard”  arsenic,  the  only  brand  produced  in  the  United 
States.  Besides  its  use  in  the  drug  trade,  a small  amount  of 
arsenic  finds  its  way  into  many  common  products,  notably  paris 
green,  glass,  dyes,  tanning  mixtures,  wall  paper,  paints  and 
metallic  alloys.  In  the  year  1900  the  United  States  imported 
5j 7^5, 559  pounds  of  this  article,  mostly  from  England  and  Ger- 
many, but  since  then  the  demand  has  fallen  off  considerably. 


102  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


THE  TACOMA  SMELTER. 

[The  Tacoma  Smelting  Company.] 

The  plant  of  the  Tacoma  Smelting  Company  is  situated  on 
the  water  front  of  Tacoma,  about  three  miles  west  of  the  main 
shipping  wharves.  A length  of  nearly  half  a mile  of  shore  land 
has  been  purchased  by  the  company,  and  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  smelter  an  area  of  seven  or  eight  acres  of 
solid  ground  has  been  built  up  in  the  bay  with  slag.  By  means 
of  this  newly  made  land  extending  out  into  deep  water,  ocean 
vessels  may  now  land  at  the  company’s  short  piers  and  discharge 
cargoes  of  ore  within  a hundred  yards  of  the  furnace  doors.  A 
railway  track  extends  from  the  city  along  the  bay  shore  through 
the  smelter  yards,  with  switches  and  bunker-tracks  arranged  to 
deliver  ore  directly  into  bins  or  roasters,  as  may  be  required. 
Passenger  traffic  with  Tacoma  is  carried  by  the  Point  Defiance 
electric  line,  which  runs  near  the  settlement  made  up  of  the 
three  hundred  employes  and  their  families. 

No  smelter  on  our  western  tide-water  need  lack  material ; 
Mexico,  Central  America,  Peru,  Chile,  British  Columbia,  Alaska, 
and  even  Japan,  all  contribute  their  wealth  of  mineral,  while  the 
nearer  districts,  Eastern  Oregon,  various  parts  of  Washington, 
the  Cceur  d’Alenes  and  Montana,  assist  the  smelters  by  supply- 
ing variety  in  the  ores,  the  prime  factor  in  furnace  operations. 
The  Bunker  Hill  and  Sullivan  mine,  in  the  Cceur  d’Alene  dis- 
trict, is  daily  supplying  to  this  smelter  an  average  of  75  tons  of 
lead-silver  concentrates,  and  the  famous  Alaska-Treadwell  mine, 
on  Douglas  island,  furnishes  the  same  amount  of  gold  concen- 
trates. From  all  other  sources  combined,  about  250  tons  are 
received  daily,  placing  the  total  day’s  work  of  the  present  plant 
at  400  tons.  By  the  1st  of  May,  1902,  a large  new  copper  blast 
furnace  will  be  ready  for  operation,  increasing  the  smelting  ca- 
pacity by  one-half. 

Sulphurets  are  roasted  in  three  double-deck  mechanical 
roasting  furnaces,  12  feet  wide  by  140  feet  long,  capacity  70  tons 
in  24  hours.  The  pattern  of  these  roasters  is  a very  effective 
local  modification  of  the  Brown  patent  continuous  slot  and  rail 
system.  Instead  of  the  usual  fragile  tile  hanging  from  the  roof- 
arch,  an  iron  hood  (cast  in  one-piece  sections  4 feet  long),  con- 
taining the  rail-block  and  leaving  a continuous  slot,  prevents 
the  heat  of  the  roasting  sulphides  from  injuring  the  chain  and 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


103 


wheels  which  convey  the  rabble-arms.  One  man  on  a shift  is 
the  whole  force  required  to  feed  the  ore  into  the  upper  deck  of 
the  roasters  at  the  west  end,  below  the  ore-bins  and  freight  cars. 
When  the  rabbles  have  carried  the  ore  to  the  east  end,  it  drops 
down  to  the  lower  deck  and  is  carried  back  to  the  west  end, 
having  lost  all  but  3 per  cent,  of  its  sulphur  during  the  10  or  12 
hours  required  in  passage.  The  Treadwell  concentrates  need 
very  little  fuel  to  assist  in  the  roasting,  so  that  only  the  three 
upper  fireplaces  along  the  side  are  used  to  start  the  furnace,  the 
four  lower  ones  remaining  cold. 

The  roasted  ores,  or  concentrates,  fall  into  a horizontal 
trough,  through  which  runs  an  endless  chain  with  conveying 
paddles  attached.  From  this  trough  the  material  drops  into  a 
similar  one  at  right  angles,  in  which  it  is  carried  up  a steep  slope 
into  a bin,  and  is  then  mixed  by  mechanical  churning  with  two 
per  cent,  by  weight  of  Roche  Harbor  lime.  The  moist,  warm 
mixture  is  fed  to  a White  Mineral  Press  (made  by  Chisholm, 
Boyd  & White,  Chicago),  from  which  it  emerges  on  a conveyor 
belt,  in  the  form  of  circular  briquettes,  four  inches  in  diameter 
and  two  inches  high.  The  briquettes  fall  from  the  belt  into  cars 
with  network  sides;  these  cars  are  run  into  a flue  filled  with  hot 
gases  from  the  roasters.  Four  hours  in  such  an  atmosphere 
bakes  the  briquettes  into  cakes  sufficiently  hard  to  withstand 
being  charged  into  blast  furnaces  without  pulverizing. 

By  the  first  hand-labor  employed  since  the  ore  has  left  the 
receiving  bins,  it  is  now  weighed,  wheeled  to  the  charging  floor, 
and  mixed  with  other  suitable  ores,  coke,  lime-rock,  matte  and 
slag.  There  are  four  water-jacketed  blast  furnaces  as  follows: 
One  small  copper  furnace  33"x84",  which  handles  nearly  100 
tons  a day,  one  lead  furnace  of  the  same  size,  and  two  other  lead 
furnaces,  36"  x 120",  and  36"  x 160",  these  latter  treating  130  to 
140  tons  per  day.  A cold  blast  is  used  under  1.5  to  2 pounds 
pressure;  the  tuyeres  have  an  automatic  shut-off,  to  prevent  the 
back-flow  of  furnace  gases  when  the  blast  fails  — a successful 
scheme  patented  by  George  Klink,  one  of  the  local  furnacemen. 
The  draft  from  each  furnace  is  carried  down  to  underground 
flues  connecting  with  two  large  stacks,  115  feet  high.  A copper 
furnace  built  on  the  latest  plans  by  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company, 
Chicago,  is  being  erected  at  the  western  end  of  the  plant,  on  the 
water’s  edge.  Its  capacity  will  be  200  tons,  its  size  42"  x 160", 


104  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 

with  steel  jacket  extending  up  to  the  charging  door,  and  blast 
heated  by  stove  to  8oo°.  This  furnace  has  its  own  stack,  150 
feet  in  height. 

The  products  at  present  are: 

1.  Lead  bullion,  which  is  shipped  to  the  Selby  Smelting  and 
Lead  Works,  San  Francisco. 

2.  Copper  matte,  containing  about  60  per  cent,  copper;  this 
is  now  being  sent  to  the  American  Metal  Company,  New  York, 
but  with  the  new  copper  furnace,  converters  will  be  set  up  to 
make  blister  copper. 

3.  Matte  from  the  lead  furnaces,  composition  very  variable, 
averaging  about  2 to  4 per  cent,  copper,  10  to  15  per  cent,  lead 
and  several  ounces  silver.  This  is  crushed  by  rolls,  roasted  in 
two  reverberatories  (size  18x72  feet),  and  again  fed  to  the  blast. 

4.  Slag,  of  which  the  shells  from  the  slag  pots  are  re-smelted, 
and  the  remainder  is  used  only  to  build  ground  on  the  water- 
front. 

In  the  crushing  and  sampling  department,  numerous  ore  bins 
and  sampling  floors  are  provided.  Two  sets  of  crushing  rolls, 
two  Blake  crushers,  jaw-opening  7 by  9 inches  and  7 by  n 
inches,  besides  various  appliances  for  hand  sampling,  crush  the 
crude  ore  and  matte,  and  reduce  to  a minimum  the  labor  of  pre- 
paring samples  for  assay.  Mr.  Peter  Daly  has  charge  of  the 
assay  department,  where  wet  and  fire  assaying,  and  electrolytic 
analyses  are  conducted. 

The  Snoqualmie  Falls  Power  Company  supplies  a current  of 
22,000  volts,  which  is  transformed  at  the  smelter  to  440  volts, 
and  is  developed  to  an  aggregate  of  460  h.  p.  by  four  motors. 
A fifth  motor  of  75  h.  p.  will  come  into  use  hereafter  to  run  the 
blast  blower  for  the  new  copper  furnace.  The  company’s  large 
steam  plant  has  been  kept  intact  as  a precautionary  measure. 
At  present,  however,  steam  is  kept  up  in  only  one  boiler,  for 
use  when  the  electric  current  fails.  So  many  repairs  are  con- 
stantly needed  about  a smelter  that  it  is  almost  a necessity  to 
have  a foundry  at  hand,  as  is  shown  by  the  amount  of  work 
done  by  the  small  cupola  set  up  here.  Over  350  patterns  have 
been  turned  out  by  the  local  pattern-maker.  The  machine  shop 
is  fitted  with  a lathe,  drill-press,  planer,  bolt-cutter,  shaper,  etc. 

Under  the  careful  and  progressive  superintendence  of  Mr. 
F.  W.  Clark,  experiments  are  constantly  being  tried  in  quick 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


105 


methods  of  handling  the  ores  and  slag,  and  in  improving  the 
furnace  practice.  Apparently,  it  is  the  aim  of  the  management 
to  maintain  an  establishment  that  shall  be  independent,  so  far 
as  possible,  of  outside  labor  and  sources  of  supply.  Whenever 
practicable,  the  company  prepares  material  of  all  sorts  on  its 
own  ground,  thereby  avoiding  delay  in  transportation  and  the 
losses  due  to  market  dealings. 

THE  NORTHPORT  SMELTER. 

[Northport  Smelting  and  Refining  Company,  Limited.] 

By  William  S.  Thyng. 

The  Northport  smelter,  employing  between  400  and  450  men, 
is  operated  in  close  conjunction  with  the  mines  of  the  British- 
America  Corporation,  at  Rossland,  British  Columbia.  In  fact 
the  Northport  plant  is  now  run  exclusively  upon  the  ore  from 
the  Le  Roi  and  the  Le  Roi  No.  2 mines,  in  Rossland.  This  ore 
is  brought  from  mines  to  smelter,  17  miles,  over  the  Red  Moun 
tain  branch  of  the  Spokane  Falls  & Northern  Railway. 

The  smelter  is  located  upon  the  east  bank  of  the  Columbia 
river,  just  above  the  town  of  Northport,  in  the  northern  part  of 
Stevens  county.  The  plant,  under  the  management  of  Mr. 
Oscar  Szontagh,  has  recently  undergone  a number  of  radical 
changes.  It  has  been  found  that  the  ore  may  be  smelted  and  a 
matte  of  the  required  grade  for  shipment  produced  without 
roasting,  or  calcining,  the  matte  resulting  from  the  first  fusion,  a 
practice  pursued  by  the  former  management,  and  one  which  had 
been  in  vogue,  in  fact,  since  the  smelter  was  built.  When  Mr. 
Szontagh  was  appointed  general  manager,  in  November,  1901, 
a new  double-decked,  straight  line  calcining  furnace  had  just 
been  completed,  to  be  used  in  addition  to  the  two  single- decked 
calciners  formerly  employed.  This  new  furnace,  however,  has 
not  been  used,  and  it  seems  probable  that  it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary, at  least  as  long  as  Rossland  ores  alone  are  treated  at  the 
plant.  These  three  calcining  furnaces  therefore  lie  idle  at  the 
present  time. 

Another  important  change  over  former  practise  was  made 
during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1901,  when  the  double  battery 
of  stalls,  in  which  a considerable  portion  of  the  ore  was  roasted, 
was  torn  out,  with  the  intention  of  extending  the  roast  yard  and 
using  longer  heaps,  in  which  form  all  the  ore  is  now  roasted. 


106  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


The  area  which  was  covered  by  the  stalls  has  not  yet  been  util- 
ized, however,  it  having  been  found  that  the  original  roast  yard 
gives  ample  capacity  for  the  present  output  of  the  plant. 

All  Le  Roi  ore  is  broken  and  sampled  before  leaving  the 
mine  at  Rossland,  and  comes  down  ready  for  roasting.  The  ore 
from  the  Le  Roi  No.  2,  however,  is  sampled  at  the  smelter.  As 
was  before  stated,  all  roasting  is  now  done  in  heaps,  the  heaps 
measuring  350  feet  long,  82  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  18  feet 
high.  The  raw  ore,  when  piled,  averages  from  8 to  9 per  cent, 
in  sulphur,  which  percentage  is  brought  down  to  between  3 and 
4 in  the  roasting.  In  the  operation,  each  ton  of  ore  is  tied  up 
for  from  30  to  40  days;  this  makes  allowance  for  time  used  in 
piling  and  tearing  down,  the  latter  being  generally  begun  before 
roasting  is  completed  in  the  center  of  the  heap.  A total  of  about 
.02  cord  of  wood  per  ton  of  ore  is  used. 

The  company  at  present  operates  five  blast  furnaces,  with  a 
total  daily  capacity  for  1,100  tons  of  ore;  three  of  these  furnaces 
measure  38  inches  by  120  inches,  and  the  other  two,  42  inches 
by  160  inches,  at  the  tuyeres.  A sixth  furnace,  to  have  a daily 
capacity  of  280  tons,  is  now  on  the  ground,  and  is  to  be  erected 
shortly;  this  last,  unlike  those  already  in  operation,  will  be  a 
boshed  furnace. 

It  is  aimed  to  produce  a matte  of  the  required  grade  for  ship- 
ment, in  two  fusions,  but  three  are  sometimes  found  necessary. 
The  ore  treated  averages  about  2 per  cent,  in  copper  and  24  per 
cent,  in  iron.  Matte  from  the  first  fusion  contains  generally 
from  25  to  30  per  cent,  copper  and  from  8 to  10  ounces  of  gold; 
the  sulphur  contents  running  about  25  per  cent.  All  matte  is 
shipped  east  for  refining,  the  requirements  in  this  shipping  matte 
being:  Copper,  40  per  cent.,  or  over;  gold,  15  oz.,  or  over;  this 
grade  matte  also  runs  about  25  per  cent,  in  sulphur.  The  amount 
of  silver  in  the  Le  Roi  ores,  and  consequently  the  amount  in  the 
final  matte  produced,  varies  rather  widely,  but  probably  from  26 
to  30  oz.  will  represent  a fair  average  in  the  matte. 

All  matte  from  the  first  fusion  is  cooled  in  spilling  plates,  to 
facilitate  rapid  cooling  and  its  subsequent  breaking  up  for  charg- 
ing into  the  furnace  for  second  fusion;  these  spilling  plates, 
which  have  been  introduced  here  by  Mr.  Szontagh,  are  of  cast 
iron,  and  measure  24  inches  by  48  inches,  by  2 inches  in  depth, 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


107 


each  plate  thus  having  the  same  capacity  as  an  ordinary  matte 
pot. 

The  dust  chamber,  which  is  428  feet  long,  with  a cross-section 
area  of  no  square  feet,  is  designed  for  easy  and  rapid  discharge 
through  side  gates.  With  the  plant  running  at  its  full  daily  ca- 
pacity of  1,100  tons,  about  15  tons  of  flue  dust  are  caught  and 
removed  each  day.  This  flue  dust  is  briquetted  immediately, 
using  lime  as  a binding  material,  and  is  again  put  through  the 
blast  furnace.  The  stack  at  the  end  of  the  dust  chamber  is  182 
feet  high  and  10  feet  in  square  section. 

All  limestone  used  for  flux  is  obtained  from  a quarry  owned 
by  the  company,  and  located  about  four  miles  south  of  North- 
port,  on  the  line  of  the  Spokane  Falls  & Northern  Railway. 
This  limestone  is  unusually  pure  and  free  from  silica.  The  coke 
used  in  the  blast  furnaces  is  obtained  partly  from  the  western 
part  of  Washington,  and  partly  from  the  eastern  states. 

No  figures  have  been  given  by  the  management  as  to  the 
amount  of  matte  shipped  daily,  or  monthly,  but  assuming  the 
average  copper  contents  of  the  ore  treated,  as  1.8  per  cent.,  and 
knowing  the  total  daily  capacity  of  the  furnaces  for  ore  to  be 
1,100  tons,  we  have:  1 100  x .018  = 19.80  tons  copper  treated  per 
day;  19.80  tons  of  copper  contained  in  a 45  per  cent,  matte, 
which  may  be  taken  as  about  the  average  grade,  are  equivalent 
to  about  44  tons  of  matte,  which  is  perhaps  not  far  from  the 
daily  output.  These  figures  are,  of  course,  very  general,  and 
may  be  taken  only  as  representing  an  estimate. 

A resume  of  the  different  processes  employed  in  the  transition 
from  ore  to  shipping  matte,  follows  in  graphical  form: 


108  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Ore  f/e/Po/J 


Ore  f/e  /?o/  ZYoPj 


Broker?  arc/ sa/ry/ec/ 


/Zeap  /Peas/ 


B/ux 


Baas/eOOre/S < Zyercer/) 


Bae/ 


3/as/ Bc/r/?acef/~ Bus /or) 


A/a/fe 


B/ux 


S/ay 


&raru/a/eB 


B/ue  Dus/ 


Bue/ 


,M  — 

B/as/Bi/raacefZ  ^ Bus /on) 
Afa/Ze  A7a//e  S/ay  B/ueDusZ 


Graru/aZeP 


SA/yyec/  /a 
Bef/nery 


Bay///// 

3r/gueZ/s 


/ 


Washington  Geological  Survey.  Annual  Report,  1901.  Plate  IX. 


THE  REPUBLIC  MILL.  OWNED  BY  THE  REPUBLIC'  REDUCTION  COMPANY. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


109 


II*  CHLORINATION  AND  CYANIDATION  PLANTS* 


THE  REPUBLIC  MILL* 

[The  Republic  Reduction  CompaDy.] 

At  the  mouth  of  tunnel  No.  4 of  the  Republic  mine,  is  situ- 
ated the  sampling  mill  of  the  Republic  Reduction  Company, 
which  handles  custom  ores  for  the  district  in  general,  as  well  as 
the  ore  from  the  Republic  mine.  The  reduction  plant  is  located 
higher  up  the  hill-slope,  on  account  of  lack  of  suitable  space 
below.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  hoist  all  the  ore  after  crush- 
ing and  sampling,  and  this  is  done  by  means  of  a self-dumping 
skip  running  on  an  inclined  surface  tramway  400  feet  long,  oper- 
ated by  a small  friction  hoist  located  at  the  foot  of  the  tramway 
in  the  sampling  mill.  One  of  the  main  advantages  in  having  the 
crushing  and  sampling  performed  in  a building  built  for  that 
purpose  only,  is  the  avoidance  of  placing  heavy  machinery  in  the 
roasting  and  cyanide  plant,  and  the  absence  of  dust  there. 

Receiving  bins  with  a capacity  of  500  tons  occupy  the  top 
level  of  the  sampling  mill.  From  these  bins  the  ore  goes  direct 
to  a No.  5 Gates  crusher  and  is  carried  by  elevator  No.  1 to  a 
revolving  trommel.  The  screened  material  goes  to  a set  of  roils, 
1 5 by  36  inches,  high  grade  Gates,  and  the  ore  that  fails  to  pass 
through  the  trommel  is  returned  to  another  Gates  crusher,  style 
H,  from  which  it  falls  again  into  elevator  No.  1.  Ore  that  has 
passed  the  rolls  is  ready  for  the  Brunton  automatic  sampler. 
The  main  portion  goes  to  one  of  the  storage  bins  for  sampled 
ore  on  the  lowest  level  of  the  mill,  while  the  sample  portion  goes 
by  way  of  an  elevator  to  small  crushing  rolls,  and  from  thence 
to  two  more  sampling  machines,  the  final  resulting  sample  being 
about  one  per  cent,  of  the  original  weight.  This  small  sample 
is  treated  by  hand  in  the  sampling  room  and  reduced  by  quarter- 
ing and  small  crushing  machinery  to  a size  and  fineness  suitable 
for  assaying. 

A tramway  running  under  the  lower  storage  bins  serves  to 
carry  the  sampled  ore  to  the  inclined  skipway  mentioned  above. 
The  skips  dump  their  load  automatically  into  the  500-ton  storage 
bins  on  the  top  floor  of  the  reduction  mill.  The  latter  is  built 


110  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


on  seven  different  levels,  vertical  range  65  feet,  and  horizontal 
area  280  by  315  feet.  Two  revolving  dryers,  5 by  26  feet,  oc- 
cupy the  second  level,  while  the  main  engine  room  and  boiler 
house  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of  this  section.  Six  return 
tubular  boilers,  60  inches  by  16  feet,  with  a combined  capacity 
of  500  h.  p.,  furnish  steam  for  a 180  h.  p.  Lane  and  Bodley  Cor- 
liss engine  for  driving  the  fine  crushing  machinery  and  dryers, 
an  air  compressor  and  a 40  h.  p.  engine  and  generator  for  elec- 
tric lighting.  An  engine  of  80  h.  p.  in  the  sampling  department 
and  three  others  elsewhere  about  the  works  complete  the  power 
plant. 

On  the  fourth  level  stand  the  fine  crushers,  two  sets  of  15  by 
36-inch  rolls,  two  sets  of  15  by  26-inch  rolls,  three  8-foot  ball 
mills,  and  the  usual  number  of  elevators,  screens,  etc.  The  fine 
ore  goes  to  the  ore  bins  and  roasters  on  the  fifth  level.  Three 
straight-line  roasting  furnaces,  hearths  12  feet  by  100,  capacity 
75  tons  apiece  daily,  prepare  the  ore  for  the  16  leaching  tanks 
on  the  sixth  level. 

The  roasted  ore  is  stored  in  bins  with  300  tons  capacity,  and 
is  drawn  from  them  into  cars  running  above  the  leaching  tanks. 
Each  tank  is  6)4  feet  deep,  22  feet  square,  and  has  a capacity  of 
no  tons  of  ore.  Three  tanks,  in  which  the  fresh  solution  is 
mixed  and  standardized,  are  located  above  the  leaching  tanks. 

On  the  next  level  are  the  precipitating  tanks  where  the  values 
are  recovered  from  the  solutions.  Two  tanks  10  feet  in  diam- 
eter and  14  feet  deep  hold  the  gold  solutions,  the  two  precipita- 
ting tanks  are  12  feet  wide  by  8 feet  deep,  and  the  filter  presses 
are  four  in  number  with  36  sections  apiece.  The  solutions  that 
have  been  used  run  into  a 24-foot  sump  tank  5 feet  deep.  Three 
steam  pumps  handle  the  solutions. 

The  refining  of  the  precipitates  is  performed  on  the  lowest 
level  of  the  mill.  Steel  tanks,  filters,  and  furnaces  are  pro- 
vided for  getting  rid  of  the  bases  and  producing  bars  of  the  pre- 
cious metals.  From  the  solution  tanks,  the  tailings  are  flushed 
or  shoveled  out  through  gates  in  the  bottom  of  the  tanks. 

The  values  are  precipitated  by  means  of  zinc  dust  (brought 
from  the  flues  of  European  zinc  works).  The  solution  is  first 
agitated  by  introducing  a current  of  compressed  air,  and  on  the 
addition  of  the  zinc,  precipitation  takes  place  almost  immedi- 
ately. The  excess  of  zinc  and  impurities  is  dissolved  out  by 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


Ill 


sulphuric  acid.  The  precipitate  is  passed  through  filter  presses 
and  the  caked  mass  dried  and  fused  in  the  ordinary  way,  the  re- 
sulting gold  averaging  .900  fine. 

The  original  capacity  of  the  plant  was  200  tons  per  day,  but 
it  was  arranged  so  that  it  could  be  enlarged  indefinitely  without 
interfering  with  the  steady  working.  After  the  completion  of 
the  plant  six  Griffin  mills  were  installed.  The  buildings  (which 
are  of  wood,  whitewashed  inside  and  painted  outside,  with  roofs 
of  corrugated  iron),  include  an  assay  office,  laboratory,  store- 
rooms, blacksmith  and  machine  shops.  A large  brick  flue  435 
feet  long  leads  up  to  a steel  stack  112  feet  high  near  the  top  level 
of  the  mill.  The  wood  used  for  fuel  in  the  furnaces  is  brought 
in  by  a five  mile  flume.  The  main  sources  of  ore  supply  have 
been  the  Ben  Hur,  Lone  Pine-Surprise,  San  Poil  and  Blacktail 
mines,  besides  tailings  from  the  old  Pelatan-Clerici  mill  of  the 
district. 

THE  MOUNTAIN  LION  MILL. 

[The  Mountain  Lion  Gold  Mining  Company.] 

Automatic  handling  of  the  ore  is  one  of  the  leading  features 
of  the  Mountain  Lion  Mill  at  Republic.  A self-dumping  skip, 
operated  by  electricity,  hoists  the  ore  in  the  main  shaft  of  the 
mine.  Ore  that  fails  to  pass  the  grizzlies  drops  into  a Blake 
crusher  with  a jaw  9 by  15  inches,  then  into  a bin  of  200  tons 
capacity.  An  automatic  tramway  400  feet  long  carries  the  ore 
from  the  mine  to  the  mill,  where  it  is  received  in  a bin  of  500 
tons  capacity. 

The  batteries  consist  of  20  stamps  of  1,200  pounds  weight, 
which  drop  8)4  inches  at  the  rate  of  100  per  minute;  their  rate 
of  crushing  is  100  tons  per  day  to  pass  a 40  mesh  screen.  The 
coarse  pulp,  after  running  over  amalgamated  copper  plates,  is 
fed  into  5-foot  Huntington  mills,  one  mill  receiving  the  pulp 
from  a battery  of  5 stamps.  When  crushed  to  80  mesh,  it 
passes  into  steel  leaching  tanks,  five  in  number,  where  it  is 
agitated  by  propeller  blades  and  leached  for  seven  hours  with 
cyanide  solution,  strength  .5  per  cent.  The  leached  pulp  passes 
from  the  leaching  tanks  into  eight  filtering  tanks,  each  6 feet 
deep  and  24  feet  in  diameter.  Further  treatment  is  effected 
here  by  a solution  of  half  the  original  strength,  or  .25  per  cent., 
varying  with  the  character  of  the  ore,  and  requiring  24  hours 
time.  In  order  to  save  cyanide  solution,  after  the  rich  solution 


112  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


has  been  drawn  off  from  the  filter  tanks,  the  tailings  are  leached 
again ; this  solution  is  run  into  two  sump  tanks,  and  then  back 
to  two  storage  tanks  where  it  is  standardized  again.  Precipita- 
tion by  means  of  zinc  shavings  takes  place  in  two  zinc  boxes 
with  sixteen  compartments  each. 

The  power  plant  consists  of  three  Fraser  and  Chalmers  boil- 
ers of  ioo  h.  p.,  a Bates-Corliss  and  an  Ide  engine,  125  h.  p. 
each,  a 3-phase  generator,  125  h.  p.,  built  by  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company,  and  two  motors  of  20  and  75  h.  p.  The  sur- 
rounding region  furnishes  wood  in  abundance,  and  the  water 
supply  is  drawn  from  Mud  Lake,  2,000  feet  south  of  the  mill. 
Both  mine  and  mill  are  lighted  by  electricity,  which  is  also  the 
power  used  for  pumping,  hoisting  and  milling. 


IIL  STAMP  MILLS  (AMALGAMATION) . 


THE  BLEWETT  MILL. 

[Chelan  Mining  Company.] 

Blewett,  in  the  center  of  the  Peshastin  mining  district  of 
Chelan  county,  is  reached  by  wagon  road  from  Leavenworth  on 
the  Great  Northern  Railway,  16  miles,  or  from  Clealum  on  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway,  32  miles  distant.  The  Chelan  Min- 
ing Company,  of  Seattle,  now  owns  the  stamp  mill  located  at  the 
mouth  of  Culver  canyon,  commonly  known  as  the  Blewett  Mill, 
formerly  owned  by  the  Culver  Company,  and  later  by  the  Blew- 
ett Gold  Mining  Company.  The  ores  treated  are  from  the  com- 
pany’s mines,  as  well  as  custom  ores  from  the  district  at  large. 

The  batteries  consist  of  four  sets  of  five  stamps  each,  with 
Fraser  and  Chalmers  automatic  feeders,  and  double  discharge, 
only  single  being  used.  950  pound  stamps,  with  chrome  steel 
shoes  and  dies,  drop  6*4  inches  at  the  rate  of  90  per  minute. 
The  pulp  is  screened  through  diagonal  slot  screens,  equivalent 
to  50  mesh,  and  falls  on  copper  plates  four  feet  wide  and  ten 
feet  long,  sloping  1 *4  inches  per  foot.  The  lower  plates  are 
silvered,  14  feet  long,  4 feet  wide,  and  falling  two  inches  per 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


113 


foot.  Four  Union  tables  receive  the  pulp,  after  which  the 
slimes  pass  over  canvas  tables  with  a three  inch  fall.  The  can- 
vas is  swept  four  times  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  the  fines  are 
saved  in  settling  boxes.  Under  former  management,  the  tail- 
ings carried  values  of  several  dollars,  which  ran  into  the  creek. 
Outside  parties  becoming  aware  of  this  built  a small  cyanide 
plant  with  two  tanks,  having  a capacity  of  about  io  tons  per 
day,  and  thereby  recovered  a considerable  amount  of  fine  gold. 
The  plant  is  no  longer  in  use. 

Wood  is  burned  under  two  boilers  (4  by  12  feet,  used  alter- 
nately), which  furnish  steam  for  a Corliss  engine  of  50  h.  p. 
A flume  500  feet  long  brings  water  from  the  creek  to  a tank  set 
20  feet  above  the  level  of  the  stamp  battery.  A Hallidie  aerial 
tramway  with  buckets  holding  250  pounds  each,  carries  the  ore 
from  the  mine  4,000  feet  distant  and  dumps  it  into  two  receiving 
bins  of  400  tons  capacity.  The  usual  system  prevails  in  regard 
to  the  different  floors  of  the  mill,  the  order  here  being,  crusher, 
feeding  bin,  battery,  and  concentrating  floors.  Mention  should 
also  be  made  of  the  assay  office  and  sampling  room. 

EUREKA  MILL. 

[Eureka  Mining  Company.] 

The  Eureka  Mill  is  located  just  below  the  mine  of  the  same 
name,  in  the  Slate  creek  district,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Cas- 
cade range,  about  15  miles  south  of  the  international  boundary. 

The  ore  is  brought  from  the  mine  by  a tramway  worked  by 
gravity,  and  is  crushed  to  40  mesh  by  10  stamps  dropping  7 in- 
ches 104  times  per  minute.  The  free  gold  is  saved  on  amalgam- 
ated copper  plates,  while  the  sulphides,  with  small  amounts  of 
sylvanite,  are  concentrated  on  two  Wilfley  tables.  The  slimes 
are  treated  on  canvas  blanket  tables. 

MAMMOTH  MILL. 

[Mammoth  Gold  Mining  Company.] 

This  five-stamp  mill,  located  at  Barron,  receives  ore  from  the 
mine  by  an  aerial  tramway.  A partial  saving  of  values  has  been 
effected  by  amalgamation  and  concentration,  but  other  machin- 
ery better  suited  to  the  ore  will  be  required. 


8 — II 


114  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


STAMP  MILLS  IN  THE  PALMER  MOUNTAIN  DISTRICT. 

Black  Bear  Mill,  five  stamps  with  concentrator,  run  by  water- 
power. Located  at  Loomis,  to  treat  ore  from  the  Black  Bear 
mine,  two  miles  distant  on  Palmer  mountain. 

Ivanhoe  Mill,  at  mine  on  Palmer  mountain.  A ten-ton  mill 
with  Dodge  pulverizer,  amalgamating  plates,  concentrator  and 
slime  tables. 

At  Triune  mine,  near  Golden,  a ten-stamp  mill  with  four 
Frue  vanners,  operated  by  steam  power. 

On  Wannicutt  lake,  a ten-stamp  mill  which  treats  ore  from 
the  Spokane  mine,  one  mile  distant. 

MT.  BAKER  MILL. 

[Mount  Baker  Mining  Company.] 

A ten-stamp  mill  is  being  completed  this  spring,  1902,  to  treat 
ore  from  the  Lone  Jack  ledge.  As  the  mine  is  at  an  elevation  of 
6,000  feet,  an  aerial  tramway  will  probably  be  found  the  cheap- 
est method  of  hauling  to  the  mill,  4000  feet  lower.  It  is  ex- 
pected that  amalgamation  will  give  a high  percentage  of  the 
assay  value  of  the  ore,  but  there  are  tellurides  present,  which 
will  be  saved  on  concentrating  tables. 

GREAT  EXCELSIOR  MILL. 

[The  Great  Excelsior  Mining  Company.] 

The  present  equipment  comprises  a five-stamp  battery  and  a 
Parker  rotary  four-stamp  mill]  50  additional  stamps  have  been 
ordered,  along  with  New  Standard  concentrating  tables. 


IV.  ARRASTRAS. 


Throughout  Washington  and  especially  in  the  Cascade  range, 
in  regions  remote  from  the  railway,  the  traveler  frequently  finds 
arrastras,  sometimes  in  operation,  more  often  idle,  and  many  of 
them  out  of  repair.  Without  doubt  two  reasons  for  the  popu- 
larity of  the  arrastra,  particularly  for  use  in  prospecting  this 
region,  are  the  abundance  of  suitable  rock  which  can  easily  be 
trimmed  into  shape  for  lining  the  pit  and  making  drags  that 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


115 


wear  well,  and  the  presence  of  numerous  streams  which  furnish 
convenient  water  power.  With  increase  of  depth  in  the  mines 
and  lack  of  free-milling  ores,  the  arrastras  are  abandoned. 

SWAUK  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

Several  arrastras  are  found  on  Swauk  creek  near  Liberty. 
Water  power  is  used  exclusively.  In  one  case  a large  overshot 
wheel  runs  two  arrastras  and  a two-stamp  mill.  Usually  hori- 
zontal wheels  are  used,  geared  to  a revolving  center  post  with 
arms  which  drag  four  grinding  blocks,  the  ore  being  fed  in  egg- 
size. 

PESHASTIN  DISTRICT. 

On  Peshastin  creek,  near  Blewett,  three  arrastras  have  been 
in  recent  use,  and  the  remains  of  several  old  ones  indicate  that 
prospects  in  the  district  have  been  tested  by  this  method  for 
many  years.  Whether  other  forms  of  treatment  would  yield 
greater  values  from  the  same  ores  is  still  an  open  question. 

The  present  arrastras  are  from  three  to  twelve  feet  in  diame- 
ter and  about  three  feet  deep,  built  of  the  most  suitable  pieces 
of  stone  to  be  found  at  hand.  The  favorite  source  of  power  is 
a horizontal  water-wheel,  run  by  the  force  of  impact  of  a stream 
of  water  shooting  out  several  feet  from  the  end  of  a flume.  The 
wheels  are  from  sixteen  to  twenty-four  feet  in  diameter,  and 
sometimes  attain  a speed  of  eighteen  revolutions  per  minute. 
The  drag-blocks  consist  of  granite  boulders  (weighing  half  a 
ton  or  more  when  new),  which  are  fastened  to  the  revolving 
arms  of  the  mill  by  means  of  chains.  From  one  to  three  thou- 
sand pounds  per  day  is  the  crushing  capacity. 

SLATE  CREEK  DISTRICT. 

The  form  of  the  arrastras  on  Slate  creek  does  not  differ 
greatly  from  that  used  elsewhere.  Many  of  them  have  been 
running  intermittently  from  the  earliest  days  of  the  district. 


116  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


IV.  CONCENTRATORS  AND  COMBINATION  PLANTS. 


THE  WAUCONDA  MILL. 

[Wauconda  Gold  Mining  Company.] 

By  A.  J.  Edwards. 

Prominent  among  the  mills  employing  combination  processes 
is  that  of  the  Wauconda  Gold  Mining  Company,  whose  main 
property  is  situated  at  the  town  of  Wauconda,  Okanogan  county. 
A sixty-ton  mill,  to  treat  the  Wauconda  ores  by  the  Rossman 
process  of  pan  amalgamation,  was  erected  during  the  fall  of 
1901,  under  the  superintendence  of  officers  of  the  Rossman  Com- 
pany, of  Minneapolis.  The  mode  of  treatment  consists  of  coarse 
crushing  by  stamps,  further  reduction  in  a pulverizer,  coarse 
concentration,  and  pan  amalgamation  of  concentrates. 

The  ore  is  crushed  by  a Gates  gyratory  crusher  in  the  samp- 
ling mill  at  the  tunnel  mouth,  and  is  conveyed  by  tramway  to 
the  ore  bins  at  the  mill,  800  feet  distant.  The  main  mill  build- 
ing is  50  feet  in  width  by  70  feet  in  length,  built  in  six  benches. 
On  the  top  bench  is  the  engine  and  boiler  plant  (capable  of  fur- 
nishing 70  h.  p.),  and  also  the  dynamo  for  lighting  the  company’s 
buildings  and  the  mine.  The  next  bench  contains  the  batteries — 
a five-stamp  battery  of  latest  design  from  the  Allis-Chalmers 
Company,  and  a two-stamp  battery,  both  automatically  fed  by 
Challenge  feeders.  The  third  and  fourth  benches  contain  the 
two  revolving  pulverizers,  two  concentrators,  and  ten  amalgam- 
ation pans,  all  of  the  Rossman  type.  Three  Rossman  settlers 
and  the  tailings  sluices  occupy  the  two  lower  benches.  Advant- 
age is  taken  of  a convenient  hill  slope  to  permit  of  using  gravity 
to  a great  extent,  and  unlimited  ground  is  left  for  tailings. 

The  ore  passes  through  batteries  and  the  pulverizers,  and 
from  thence  into  the  concentrating  pans.  These,  like  much  of 
the  other  machinery,  are  of  the  Rossman  design  and  introduce 
new  features  for  the  work.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  of  them  that 
while  the  pulp  is  held  suspended  in  water  in  the  pans,  the  lighter 
portion,  including  the  worthless  gangue,  is  allowed  to  flow  away 
and  the  heavier  portions  are  retained.  This  method  does  not  ap- 
pear to  allow  of  an  extremely  close  concentration,  the  Wauconda 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


117 


ores  being  concentrated  only  from  six  or  eight  to  one,  but  it  is  an 
exceedingly  simple  and  inexpensive  operation.  The  percentage 
of  values  remaining  in  the  tailings  is  low,  and  the  process  accom- 
plishes very  effectually  the  object  of  reducing  the  quantity  of 
pulp  which  the  pan  must  treat,  and  consequently  increases  the 
capacity  of  the  mill  to  a considerable  extent. 

After  this  operation  the  concentrated  pulp  is  elevated  by  a 
Frenier  pump  to  hoppers,  where  the  excess  water  is  removed 
and  returned  for  use  again  in  the  batteries,  while  the  thickened 
pulp  is  charged  from  the  hoppers  with  the  chemicals  and  mer- 
cury into  the  amalgamating  pans.  The  object  of  the  chemicals 
is  to  assist  in  freeing  the  gold  from  any  substance  rendering  it 
refractory,  so  that  it  will  readily  amalgamate.  The  Rossman 
pans  differ  from  other  pans  in  various  particulars  of  form,  and 
these  differences  effect  a radical  increase  of  efficiency.  The  pans 
are  somewhat  smaller  than  usual  and  are  charged  with  from  250 
to  350  pounds  of  pulp  at  once.  The  time  employed  is  only 
about  30  minutes  for  a charge,  so  that  the  ability  to  thoroughly 
amalgamate  in  such  a short  time  more  than  compensates  for  the 
small  charge.  When  amalgamation  in  the  pans  is  complete,  the 
pulp  passes  to  the  settlers,  where  the  mercury  amalgam  is  sepa- 
rated and  the  tailings  sent  to  the  dump.  The  mercury  is  retorted 
as  usual.  Every  effort  has  been  made  in  designing  the  mill  to 
make  the  operating  as  nearly  automatic  as  possible,  so  that  the 
labor  required  will  be  reduced  to  a minimum. 

The  sampling  mill  at  the  tunnel  mouth  contains  a machine 
shop  which  is  fitted  with  a large  iron  lathe,  power  drill,  emery 
wheels,  wood  saws  and  blacksmith  forge.  A Root  blower,  for 
ventilating  the  mine,  and  a Gates  ore  crusher  are  also  in  this 
building.  The  sampling  mill  portion  is  fitted  with  a complete 
set  of  Rossman  machines,  including  rolls,  pulverizer,  amalgam- 
ating pans  and  settler.  These  are  similar  in  design  to  those  in 
the  big  mill  but  of  reduced  size,  the  diameter  of  the  pans  being 
24  inches,  while  the  regular  pans  are  36  inches.  Charges  of  50 
to  70  pounds  of  ore  can  be  treated  in  these  pans,  making  it  pos- 
sible to  carry  out  complete  tests  of  the  ore,  both  as  to  values 
and  methods  of  treating,  as  the  work  progresses. 

Since  the  sampling  mill  was  opened,  in  October  1901,  a num- 
ber of  large  samples  of  Wauconda  ore  have  been  worked,  usually 
50  pounds  at  a time.  During  the  early  part  of  December,  the 


118  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


work  on  the  big  mill  was  so  far  advanced  that  a good  sized  pre- 
liminary run  was  made.  It  is  expected  that  the  mill  will  be  in 
continuous  operation  by  the  beginning  of  spring.  The  work 
which  the  two  mills  have  already  done  makes  it  possible,  how- 
ever, to  speak  with  considerable  certainty  as  to  the  adaptability 
of  the  method  selected  for  treating  the  Wauconda  ore  and  its 
success  in  so  doing.  The  numerous  50  pound  samples  worked 
in  the  sampling  mill  gave  values  of  from  $10  to  $18  per  ton  and 
the  values  remaining  in  the  tailings  ranged  from  only  fifty  cents 
to  $1  per  ton,  indicating  a very  uniform  saving  of  about  95  per 
cent.  The  tailings  of  the  preliminary  run  in  the  big  mill  indi- 
cated a similar  large  per  cent,  of  recovery.  The  average  value 
of  the  ore  as  shown  by  all  these  samples  taken  from  the  different 
drifts  in  the  mine  and  from  general  averages  of  the  dump  was 
about  $12.  The  results  from  treating  the  concentrates  in  the 
amalgamating  pans  were  equally  satisfactory,  showing  that  a 
most  efficient  system  has  been  chosen. 

The  low  cost  of  treatment  by  this  method,  about  $1  in  ex- 
cess of  cost  of  free  milling  under  similar  conditions,  is  another 
important  consideration.  Much  fuller  information  will  of  course 
be  available  as  to  the  efficiency  with  which  the  Wauconda  ore 
can  be  treated  after  the  mill  has  been  in  operation  for  a month 
or  so. 

GOLDEN  ZONE  CONCENTRATOR. 

[ Golden  Zone  Mining  Company.] 

The  concentrating  and  amalgamating  plant  of  the  Golden 
Zone  Mining  Company  is  situated  in  the  Palmer  Mountain  dis- 
trict, sixteen  miles  north  of  Loomis,  and  three  miles  south  of 
the  British  Columbia  line. 

Ore  is  brought  from  the  mine  by  a wire  ropeway  of  1,100  feet 
single  span,  and  an  incline  600  feet  long.  Power  is  furnished 
by  a 50  h.  p.  engine  and  boiler.  The  ore  is  crushed  in  two  sets 
of  Cornish  rolls  and  a Huntington  mill,  and  amalgamated  on 
copper  plates  arranged  in  three  steps.  A single  hydraulic  class- 
ifier and  three  Wilfley  tables  reduce  thirty  tons  of  ore  per  day 
to  two  tons  of  concentrates,  carrying  about  $200  in  gold.  Since 
the  mill  began  work,  early  in  1900,  about  100,000  tons  of  ore 
have  been  handled.  The  concentrates  are  shipped  to  the  smelt- 
ing works  at  Tacoma  and  Everett. 


The  Metalliferous  Resources  of  Washington. 


119 


RUBY  CONCENTRATOR. 

[Washington  Reduction  Company.] 

Although  no  work  has  been  done  in  the  line  of  silver-lead 
concentrating  in  the  district  about  Ruby  since  the  fall  of  silver 
in  1893,  the  complete  concentrating  plant  at  Ruby  deserves 
mention  on  account  of  the  work  done  before  that  time. 

An  aerial  tramway,  run  by  gravity,  brought  ore  from  the  First 
Thought  mine,  one  mile  distant.  Beginning  at  the  mine,  the 
tramway  runs  up  over  a ridge,  then  descends  by  a long  slope  to 
the  mill,  the  relative  grades  being  such  that  the  greater  weight 
of  the  loaded  buckets  on  the  mill-side  served  to  keep  the  end- 
less cable  in  motion.  Electricity,  generated  by  water  power, 
ran  the  milling  machinery,  which  consists  of  two  rock  crushers, 
two  Dodge  pulverizers  with  screens,  and  eight  Frue  vanners. 
The  slimes  were  run  over  canvas  strakes.  During  the  few 
months  that  the  mill  was  in  operation  it  produced  $40,000  in 
concentrates. 

OLD  DOMINION  CONCENTRATOR. 

[Old  Dominion  Mining  Company.] 

Another  silver-lead  mill  which  has  been  lying  idle  for  some 
time,  is  that  of  the  Old  Dominion  mine,  one  of  the  best  devel- 
oped and  most  productive  mines  in  the  Colville  district,  having 
yielded  about  $2,000,000  in  silver,  lead  and  gold. 

The  mine  tramways  from  two  different  levels  are  carried  out 
by  trestlework  over  the  edge  of  a smooth  hill  slope  below  the 
tunnel  mouth.  The  mine  ore  is  dumped  into  a steep  chute  80 
feet  long  leading  down  to  the  crushing  floor  of  the  mill.  After 
passing  over  grizzlies  and  undergoing  preliminary  crushing  and 
sizing  in  rolls,  the  ore  travels  by  gravity  to  the  concentrating 
floors  where  the  jigs  and  slime  tables  are  placed.  The  mill  is 
run  by  steam  power,  with  wood  fuel. 


INDEX, 


Anacortes 49 

Antimony 3 

Apache 34 

Apex 85 

Arlington 33 

Arrastras 114 

Arsenic  Minerals 3 

Bald  Mountain  Claims 52 

Bald  Mountain  District 52 

Ben  Hur 20 

Black  Bear 31 

Black  Jack 60 

Black  Tail 20 

Black  Warrior 53 

Blewett  Mill 112 

Blue  Bird 62 

Blue  Creek 7 

Blue  Lake 33 

Blue  Star 91 

Bolin  ger 39 

Bonanza,  Colville  District 7 

Bonanza,  Silver  Creek  District 74 

Bonanza  Queen 69 

Bridge  Creek  District 54 

Bronze  Monarch 95 

Brooks 11 

Bull  Frog 30 

Bullion 5 

Burns 62 

Butte 54 

Butte  and  Boston. 22 

Carbon  River  District 89 

Carmack 86 

Cedar  Canyon  District 8 

Chelan  County 52 

Chewelah  District 7 

Chicago,  Carbon  River  District 91 

Chicago,  St.  Helens  District 95 

Climax 85 

Clipper 91 

Colville  District 7 

Concentrators  and  Combination  Plants  116 

Conconully  District 32 

Copper  Bell 80 

Copper  Chief 75 

Copper  Minerals 2 

Crown  Point 55 

Crystal 22 

Culver 58 

Cyanidation  Plants 109 


Darrington  District 61 

Davenport 54 

Deer  Trail 9 

Dutch  Miller 86 

East  Lake 91 

Edwards,  A.  J 116 

El  Caliph 21 

Elwell-Darrington 62 

Ethel 77 

Eureka  Mill 113 

Eureka,  Peshastin  District 57 

Eureka,  Slate  Creek  District 47 

Everett 51 

Everett  Smelter 98 

Examiner 6 

Ferry  County — 

Geology  of 13 

Rainfall  and  Drainage  of 13 

Topography  of 12 

Flat  Creek  District 6 

Forty- five 66 

Goat  Creek 35 

Gold 1 

Golden  Eagle 59 

Gold  Hill 30 

Gold  Ridge 48 

Golden  Zone 30 

Golden  Zone  Concentrator 118 

Great  Excelsior 43 

Great  Excelsior  Mill 114 

Great  Northern 52 

Great  Republic 84 

Great  Western 34 

Gunn’s  Peak 82 

Harley 62 

Helena 69 

Henrietta 38 

Hidden  Treasure 37 

Highland  Light 38 

Holden 55 

Homestake 33 

Honest  John 8 

Horseshoe  Basin  District  53 

Hunter,  Squaw  Creek  District 39 

Hunter,  Darrington  District 63 

Imperial 68 

Independence 40 


(121) 


122 


Index. 


Independent 

Index-Bornite 

Index  District 

Index-Independent 

Index  Mine 

Index,  St.  Helens  District 

Ivanhoe 

Juanita 

Kemp-Komar 

King  County 

Kittitas  County 

Knapp,  A.  E 

Lakeside 

Lead  Minerals 

Lewis  County 

Lincoln  County 

Little  Chief 

Lone  Pine-Surprise 

Lone  Star 

Louisa 

Lucky  Queen 

Lyon,  D.  A 41,  51, 

Mammoth 

Mammoth  Mill 

Mary  Ann  Creek  Placers 

Metalliferous  Products,  Value  of 

Methow 

Metropolitan 

Minnehaha 

Minerals,  Metallic 

Mint 

Molly 

Molybdenum  Minerals 

Mono 

Monte  Cristo  District 

Monte  Cristo  Mine 

Monte  Cristo,  Slate  Creek  District — 

Monterey 

Morning  Glory 

Moses  District 

Mountain  Lion 

Mountain  Lion  Mill 

Mount  Baker  District 

Mount  Baker  Mill 

Multnomah 

Myers  Creek  District 

Myers  Falls  District 

Ninety-Nine 

Nooksack 

North  American 

Northport  District 

Northport  Smelter 

Norway 

O. and  B 

Okanogan  County- 

Geology  of 

Topography  of 


Old  Dominion  Concentrator 119 

Olden 59 

Ontario 75 

Orchid 11 

Oriental  and  Central 35 

Palmer  Mountain  District 28 

Palmer  Mountain  Mine 29 

Peshastin  District 56 

Peshastin  Mine 58 

Pierce 45 

Pierce  County 89 

Polar  Star 96 

Post-Lambert 42 

Pole  Pick 59 

Princess  Maud 21 

Q.  S 32 

Quilp 19 

Railroad  Creek  District 54 

Reduction  Plants 98 

Republic  District 14 

Republic  Mill 109 

Republic  Mine 16 

Review 27 

Ripper  and  Chief 97 

Roberts,  Milnor 98 

Ruby  Concentrator 119 

Saginaw 44 

Samson 96 

San  Poil 20 

Silver  Creek  District 73 

Silver  King 6 

Silver  Minerals 2 

Silver  Queen 10 

Silver  Seal  Fraction 10 

Skagit  County 50 

Skamania  County 93 

Slate  Creek  District 45 

Sloman 63 

Smelting  Works 98 

Snohomish  County 60 

Spokane 36 

Springdale  District 8 

Squaw  Creek  District 37 

Stamp  Mills 112 

Standard 38 

Stevens  County- 

Drainage  of 4 

Geology  of 5 

Topography  of 4 

St.  Helens  District 93 

Stilaguamish  District 63 

St.  Lawrence . 36 

St.  Louis 69 

St.  Paul-Express 6 

Stretch,  R.  H 65 

Sunset 79 


68 

81 

76 

81 

80 

96 

59 

96 

8 

82 

87 

56 

51 

2 

93 

22 

68 

19 

45 

38 

58 

61 

47 

113 

27 

3 

35 

84 

7 

1 

6 

63 

3 

84 

70 

71 

50 

27 

21 

34 

18 

111 

41 

114 

34 

26 

6 

49 

44 

50 

5 

105 

95 

72 

23 

23 


Index. 


123 


Surprise 

Swauk  District 

Sweden 

Tacoma,  Slate  Creek  District 

Tacoma,  Carbon  River  District 

Tacoma  Smelter 

Terra  Alta 

Texas  J ack 

Thunder  Creek  District 

Thyng,  Wm.  S 8,  63,  70,  73,  76,  89, 

Tip  Top  

Tom  Hal 

Tom  Thumb 

Tough  Nut 

Tribune 

Twisp  District 

Upper  Methow  District 


War  Eagle 31 

Washington 97 

Wauconda  District 24 

Wauconda  Mill 116 

Wauconda  Mine 25 

Whatcom  County- 

Geology  of 40 

Topography  of 40 

Whiskey  Hill 31 

Willis 51 

Yakima 27 

Yellow  Jacket 85 

Yellow  Metals 95 

Young  America 95 

Zinc  Metals 3 


90 

87 

94 

48 

92 

102 

44 

54 

51 

105 

57 

39 

19 

33 

31 

36 

35 


V 

1 


t» . 


